Today, Savvy?
by Galaxia-Dawn
Summary: The gang has been through plenty in New York and the Caribbean all the shootings, swordfights, love triangles, and treasure hunting pay off in the chapter 17 conclusion. COMPLETE.
1. An Intriguing Bird

A/N: Hey, reader! I'm glad you're gonna read this story, but there are a couple things I should say before you do. I don't own any of the familiar characters or products that you recognize. I do own the company and Alisa, though. Don't forget, this is our time period, a.k.a. 2004...but maybe that'll change later on in the story?? The song in this chapter is not owned by me, either; it's by Craig David and it's called "Fast Cars". Enjoy and review, mateys!

Chapter One: An Intriguing Bird

Will Turner stepped out of the taxi cab and dusted himself off. He wanted to be sure that he made a good first impression on his new boss. He was wearing a dark blue suit and tie and carried a black leather briefcase. His newest ambition? To become the C.E.O. of Ionary Advertising, Incorporated, one of the best and most appreciated advertising agencies in the U.S. Will took a look at the huge stone and marble building ahead of him, whose steps seemed to lead forever and ever before they finally reached the intimidating glass double doors. Behind him, he could hear the roaring traffic of New York, including the foot traffic on the sidewalks. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he felt the crisp air blow around him; it was almost October and the autumn weather could be pretty brutal up north. _I hope this goes well. No, I know this is going to go well. It has to. It's the only chance you've got, Will. _

At the age of 16, Will graduated from high school with diplomatic distinction. He was the type who paid attention in class, studied hard, made straight A's...yet he was unmistakably popular with not only the guys, but the ladies, too. Will was more than easy on the eyes; he looked as if he should be **in** advertising, literally, not behind the scenes of it. But nothing else would suit him, because he was seemingly born to lead. He was head of almost every club- chess, Spanish, and debate alike- and won class elections every single year with nearly unanimous votes. Not only did he have enough athleticism to star on the Barille Highschool football team (number 43!), he also threw the best parties in all of Manhattan, according to just about everyone who attended his school. Basically, he was the one that people loved to hate, except it was pretty impossible because of his charm and the way that he did not bask in his own glory- he treated everyone as though they were right up there with him, never below.

After a brisk walk up the solemn stone steps, he took one last nervous look at his reflection in the doors. The handsome 19-year-old then opened up a door, taking with him his three years of college education to start his new adult life. Immediately upon entering, he smiled at his new surroundings. _This must be the lobby... _There were big glass windows giving a great view of the streets, comfortable plush chairs most likely for the clients who entered, expensive looking plants gracing each corner of the room, and through the heated air wafted a pleasant fragrance of coffee coming from the break room.

"May I help you sir?" A woman who looked to be in her mid-forties was sitting behind an impressive looking oak desk, eyeing Will over her granny glasses. He cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Ah, yes, please. My name is William Turner and I'm here to see a Mr.....Norrington, ma'am," he said with a slight blush at almost forgetting his boss's name.

"Of course, of course! He's waiting for you and he doesn't like to be kept waiting, dear." She handed him a thick binder that had been sitting near her computer. "That'll be level 3, hallway B, room labeled Norrington. Now run along, and good luck!" Will nodded his thanks to her and rushed to catch the elevator before its doors closed. He now was sweating a tad bit so he fanned his jacket to cool himself. _I'm usually not this nervous. _

"What is wrong with me?" he muttered aloud and sighed in frustration.

"I'm not sure, but if your name is Turner, then I think this is where you get off." He hadn't noticed the doors slide open a second time or the ding of the lighted "3" indicator, until a young woman sitting in the back corner of the elevator spoke.

"Thanks," he said and hopped out, turning back to give a little wave. She smirked at him and hugged her knees tighter to her chest as the doors reclosed. _Since when do people sit in elevators? And how did she know who I was? She was kind of beautiful. Although, she doesn't look as if she works here..._

Those were the types of thoughts that ran through Will's head until he finally stumbled upon the room sporting a golden plaque with 'NORRINGTON' engraved upon it. He took a deep, calming breath and knocked confidently on the door. It almost instantly swung open and a tall man stood in its way.

"Well, Turner, nice of you to show up this morning," he looked at his watch, "and without a moment to spare!" Extending his hand, he gave Will a strong handshake that meant business, but his attitude was quite cheery.

"You must be Mr. Norrington," Will concluded before taking the seat that was offered to him.

"Wow, I think you might've had your cup of coffee this morning because you're terrifically intelligent!" he joked with a hearty laugh afterward and Will joined in. _He's not so bad,_ he thought and he smiled his first genuine smile of the day.

Will was attentive as he received his first instructions as Commercial Media Sales Monitor, but he did not hesitate to let his curiosity get the better of him. He was attentive, sure, but he also could multitask. As he listened, he looked. He looked at Norrington who was around 6'2 with blond hair, pale skin (not sickly pale, but without a tan), and sharp blue eyes. He observed his office which was accommodated with furniture of cherry wood, a rich brick fireplace (unlit), and a somewhat disturbing deer head above a cabinet filled with what looked like hunting trophies. Will even found himself looking out of the large glass window behind Norrington, out onto the streets and at the billboards, too.

Later during the day, he was very settled into his office, which he shared with three other employees. He had taken his I.D. picture and gotten his parking space assigned in case he decided to drive to work; he even had a dinner date set up with a couple of coworkers the next night to check out cool restaurants and get caught up on everything that was considered history of anything that had to do with people in the office. It was around 4:30 p.m. and Will was sitting at his small, somewhat unimpressive desk emailing his mom. Yes, his mom. **Dear Mom, I have now gotten settled into my new office. I've met a few people and my boss is pretty cool, too**. _Wow, this is sounding like a camp letter...hello mudah...hello fadah...here I am at...camp Granada..._He chuckled out loud and jumped about a foot from his chair when he heard laughter behind him.

"Haha. Sounds kinda like a camp letter, Will." Yet another female was talking to him today, but somehow she immediately seemed different. She wasn't motherly like the lady at the front desk, she was not mocking like the woman in the elevator, and she wasn't even blatantly flirtatious like most of the women that he met during his lunch hour in the break room. But Will couldn't put his finger on exactly what this girl radiated of; all he could do was curse himself inside for getting embarrassed yet again.

"Yeah, well she likes to know what I'm up to, how my life is going. I haven't seen her in months. It's a change to say the least," he responded casually and slid a nearby chair closer to himself to offer her a seat. She accepted.

"I'm Alisa. I've been working here for about a month, so I'm still pretty new. But I know more than you, so if you have any questions just let me know," she said as she began to dig around in her purse.

"Well, thanks. I guess I could use a little help every now and then." He ran his hand through his dark, wavy locks, which were long, but not too long, as he remembered the elevator incident from that morning. Alisa could tell that he was embarrassed about something.

"So...what would you like to know? What do you think you'd need help on?" she asked in a nonchalant manner as she finally pulled out a pack of Sour Patch Kids. Ripping it open, she popped a few into her mouth, made a 'wow, this is really sour!' face, and then grabbed Will's hand and poured some into his. He was a bit taken aback by her friendliness, but then he smiled. Genuine smile number two. _That's what she is...she's friendly..._he thought, and he popped the candy into his own mouth before speaking.

"Well, I'm kind of afraid of getting lost. This place is so big!" he said while typing out another sentence in his email. She chuckled.

"Definitely. When I first got here, I was supposed to go to Mr. Norrington's office, but I accidentally went into Nadinburg's...let me tell you, I came across a pretty, uh, "inappropriate" display of affection between her and the copy guy!" They both laughed and Will continued.

"At least you knew when to get off of the elevator. I just kind of stood there like an idiot until somebody was like, 'uh, if your name is Turner, I think you get off here'." Will smacked his forehead and rolled his eyes at his own stupidity and she laughed loudly. He chastised himself, even though he could now laugh at his embarrassment. _I can't believe I'm telling her this stuff...I don't even know her. But, wow, she is so much better than the other girls I've met today. She's funny and friendly- she's pretty, too._ The last phrase came to mind as he watched her wipe off a pair of sunglasses with the edge of her white top. Her brown curls were pulled up into a ponytail and her long legs tucked around each other under her chair. Her dark eyes were momentarily hidden by long lashes as she looked down to blow some invisible dust off of her shades.

Alisa looked up and grinned, her smile made even brighter against her coffee-brown skin.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" she teased and tossed her glasses into her purse. If Will was around his high school or college buddies, he probably would've said something a little more clever, like 'You, of course', but "of course" he was in a new place with new people, and he was still a bit nervous and shy.

"Um, well," was all that he got a chance to stutter out before she stood up, unaware of his discomfort.

"I'd better go, Will, but it was nice chatting. Here, take these," she said and quickly handed him a half empty bag of Sours.

"It was nice meeting you, too," he said as he watched her jog out of the door to do whatever it was that Alisa had to get done before the work day was over. "Thanks..." he said softly as he looked down at the candy in his hands. Typing a last sentence, he clicked 'send' and then shut off his computer. When he was finished cleaning up his work space, he took one last look out of the window. There was a billboard across the street which he hadn't noticed before, and that was surprising to him, seeing as how it was incredibly striking. _Maybe it's the way the night lights are shining on it...No, wait! I think that's...yes, it definitely is...That's the woman I saw in the elevator this morning! _The advertisement was for a new perfume called Mysterious that boasted a tagline of 'For the intrigue in us all'. The woman was a tanned goddess with honey brown curls and deep green eyes; she wasn't smiling, but that made Will want to see her smile even more. He shook his head as if trying to convince himself that he must be crazy, before heading out the door, down to the lobby, and to the sidewalk to hail a cab.

Just as the fifth cab sped past him, he gave up and sat down on a nearby bench. That's when a sleek, black pickup truck pulled up gracefully next to the curb. It shone in the headlights of oncoming traffic and business signs, sporting tinted windows and blasting a fast song with strong hip-hop beats. **Fast cars, fast women...** He shifted, a bit nervous again at seeing such a vehicle stop directly ahead of him. The passenger window rolled down halfway and Will raised an eyebrow. Alisa stuck her head out and shouted over the traffic and music. **...speed bikes with the nitro in 'em...**

"Hey, do you wanna ride??!" she yelled and Will jumped up.

"Yeah, definitely!" He jogged over to the car, just narrowly dodging a couple dashing towards a nearing taxicab. **...dangerous, when driven....**As they drove along, the music continued to bump loudly, but it was a nice accompaniment to the ride. They talked loudly over it, both of them loosening ties and buttons to get more comfortable in their office attire.

"So, do you have plans for tomorrow?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to go to dinner with a few people from the office. Martin, Andy, Nicole, and John," he answered. **...those are the types that I be feelin'...** Alisa laughed.

"Those guys? Yeah, they're cool, but they're kinda cliquey. You know the type. They have their own little group and they like to disclude everyone else. Trying to hang with them is like...trying to hang with the cheerleaders in high school!" she concluded and Will laughed. **Fast cars, fast women...**

"Oh, really? I actually kind of sensed it by the way they invited me...kinda snobby, but I felt like it'd be rude to reject them."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. First day and all." She turned another corner and they rode in silence listening to the song. **...speed bikes with the nitro in 'em...**_It kinda suits her_, he thought as he took a sidelong glance at the speedometer, which read 65. They were in a 50 mph zone. **...dangerous, when driven...**

"So, yeah. Remember how I told you about the person in the elevator this morning?" he asked, breaking their conversational silence.

"Yeah, of course. What about it?"

"Well, I was closing up tonight and I noticed a billboard down the street. This might sound crazy, but I'm pretty sure that the girl on the sign was the same girl that was in the elevator!" he said with a confused raise of his hands.

"First of all, that shouldn't be too surprising seeing as how we're an advertising agency," she turned to give him a pointed look before crossing lanes, "and secondly, was that the sign about the perfume?"

"Yup. 'For the intrigue in all of us'," he said in a mock seductive voice. She chuckled.

"That woman would be Elizabeth. Elizabeth Swann. She's a good friend of mine and her dad is THE BOSS of Ion. She's the one who got me this job." Alisa finally pulled up to Will's apartment complex as the song was ending. **...those are the types that I be feelin'...**

"Well, that's cool. Thanks for the ride, Alisa. My car gets out of the shop tomorrow so I won't have to worry about getting rides or getting a taxi," he said as he got out.

"Yeah, you won't have to worry about being late, either," she joked sarcastically. "Hey, Will, why don't you come out to dinner with us tomorrow night? Me and Liz? You might have more fun. Just think about it."

"Ok, I'll think about it," he said and gave one last wave goodbye as she drove off into the night. It wasn't until he got out of the car that he noticed the song playing on repeat. _Well, not only does it suit her, but I think she **knows** it suits her!_ He thought as he smiled genuine smile number three.

A/N: Hey, thanks for reading. If I get some feedback, then I'll post chapter two, savvy? Man, I love pirate talk. It'll be comin' into play with the story soon I think...


	2. Don't Forget the Tips

A/N: Oy, me lovelies! Thank you again for reading! I have to give everyone a warning: I'm still in school (highschool sophomore) so I might get busy with schoolwork sometimes. If I don't post for awhile, pleeeeease don't get discouraged with me! I'll never give up on a story if I have dedicated readers like you all! Enjoy yer latest bit o' booty!

Chapter Two: Don't Forget the Tip(s)

"Work sucks." It was a cold Friday morning, even though the weatherman had predicted 'sunny skies and very little wind'. Alisa was on her way to the elevator with Will to begin the workday.

"Alisa. It's really not that bad. Isn't this what you want to do in life? Be an advertiser?" he asked as he held open the door a little longer for another employee who was dashing toward it.

"Well...not really," she confessed. "I'm actually kind of an intern/volunteer. I only do this to get some experience for what I really wanna be."

"And what is that?" Will asked. They got off and began walking down the tile floored hallway. He listened to the click-clacking of her pumps while waiting for an answer. Click, clack, click, clack, click, clack. Still no answer. He stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Well? Are you gonna tell me?" She looked at him sheepishly and continued walking until they reached her stop.

"The truth is, I don't really know. I just know that this is where I need to start," Alisa admitted to him, and she hadn't told any of the other employees that little personal tidbit yet. "Hey, don't look at me like that! This is only my first year at college so I still have the whole semester before I have to officially decide my major." Will nodded.

"Yeah, I remember those days." He leaned against the wall.

"What do you mean 'those days'?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, I remember them. And I remember them pretty well. Those days. The days when I was a college student." _What doesn't she understand?_

"Oh, you're not in college anymore?! Sorry, I must seem pretty ignorant. It's just that you look so....young...," she explained.

"Yeah, I'm only 19, but if you keep my secret, I'll keep yours," he said and he held out his hand for her to shake. She hesitated, which confused him, but finally consented and shook his hand.

"Ok. Deal," she said, but her next course of body language didn't confuse Will at all. In fact, this was what he was used to. She smiled a small, shy smile and held his hand just a bit longer than necessary with a look in her eyes that said 'I just might like you, Will'. He squeezed her hand and flashed her a smile of his own that said 'I just might like you, too, Alisa', before turning around and walking to Norrington's office.

"You're late." Those were the first words out of Norrington's mouth when Will walked in a minute later. Will glanced at the clock on his wall. It read 8:01. _Ok, I thought that I start work at eight..._., he thought while trying not to make a face of irritation. "Haha, just messin' with you, Turner. Go ahead and take a seat," he said and pulled out two rolled up pieces of poster board which he promptly snapped open. "These," he said, "are the pieces that we will discuss in your first meeting today, Will."

"We have a meeting today? When?" he asked, already feeling his stomach turn.

"Oh, in about...five minutes. Don't worry," he added when he saw the expression on Will's face that he couldn't help but show. "I know you're new and everything, that's why I'm prepping you ahead of time."

And such was Will's day at work It was choc full of meetings, charts, women, more charts, phone calls, faxes, unwanted advances, etc. By the time 4:30 rolled around, Will was sure that he had never been worked so hard in his life. He loved it. He loved every waking minute of it. 'Hard work soothes a man's soul' his father once said. His father had passed away when he was a young boy, his mother had told him, but that was the phrase he was known to live by. His family members always said that he and his father looked just alike, but Will couldn't remember. The only things he had of his father were a few pictures in the family album and a college ring that he never took off. It was gold with a red jewel in the middle and had 'Quarter Your Life' engraved on the inside of it. He never knew exactly what that meant, but he loved that ring anyway. One thing he did know was that he was named after his father- Robert William Turner. But that was in the past, and he was living the present.

He decided that since he was done with his work, he'd visit Alisa's desk around the same time that she had visited his the day before. On his way, he stopped in the break room to pick up some Twizzlers; both of them had concluded that they were avid candy freaks who needed their daily fix of sugar. When he reached her door, he paused before entering. _Who's she talking to?_ he wondered as he pushed the door open just enough for him to see in and try to listen to what was being said.

Alisa spoke. "Well, he's really nice and I'm sure that you'll like him. We met yesterday and I gave him a ride home." The girl next to her rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Leese. He didn't even know when to get off of the elevator; how's he gonna hang with us??!" she said in an exasperated manner as she plopped down into a chair. Alisa gave her 'the look'.

"Liz, if you don't give him a chance, who will? I gave him one, now it's your turn. It'll be fun, I swear!" Elizabeth just looked at her. "Come on! You know you wanna meet him...you know he looks goooood, girl!!" Elizabeth laughed at this and gave her consent.

"Fine, but if he can't handle it, he goes. NO arguments. And NO making a scene," she added.

Out in the hall, Will was getting a bit frustrated. _Damn, that's the girl we're going to dinner with tonight! And fucking shit, I can't hear what they're saying!!_ He threw in the towel on his eavesdropping attempt and walked into the room.

"Hey, Will!" Alisa said with enthusiasm and she and Elizabeth stood up together. "We were just talking about you! This is Elizabeth. Elizabeth, this is Will," she said.

"Hi, Elizabeth. It's good to meet you." The words came out less confidently than he would have liked, but he was grateful that the words came out at all. _She's even more breathtaking in person... and when she isn't smirking at me,_ he thought.

"Hey. Good to meet you, too. And it's Liz," she said, and noticed, irritated, that he didn't correct himself.

Alisa was beginning to sense some tension in the room, and she didn't like it. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,_ she thought, but quickly pushed the negativity out of her head.

"Will, we'd better get outta here," she said and she grabbed her purse after slipping her jacket on. "See you tonight!" she called behind her as she and Liz left the room.

"Yeah," he whispered, realizing that he felt silly holding the licorice, but glad that she hadn't noticed the candy in her hurry to leave.

That evening was quite eventful for the trio. It would change Will's life... pretty much for forever, but he didn't know it yet. It started with him meeting the girls at Barnaby Pub and Grill on 43rd St. at seven. The moment he walked in, he felt at home; a strange feeling of ease and comfort fell over him. Maybe it was because of the large number of people in the restaurant, or that the restaurant itself wasn't very fancy, or perhaps it was the way the people acted. The waiters hustled and bustled about, laughing and talking with the diners and the diners ate whichever way they wanted, cursed, shouted, and roared with laughter, throwing all etiquette and manners to the wind. It wasn't really what Will was used to, yet it felt so oddly natural and inviting.

"Hey, Will, over here!" It was Alisa shouting to him from a table on the far end of the restaurant. She was sitting with Elizabeth and a couple of other people who he didn't recognize. He gave a little wave and pushed his way through the people and around the tables and chairs until he reached them.

"Wow, this is a great place. I've never been here before, but I like it," he said and sat down next to Alisa.

"Yeah, I've always liked it, but it's not exactly popular with everybody," Elizabeth said to him carefully. He was a bit surprised that she had spoken to him; he got the feeling that she didn't really like him, but he said nothing to give it away.

"Ok, this is Gibbs. This is Ragetti and this is Pintel," Alisa introduced the others by pointing to them one by one. Will frowned in confusion at their odd names, but shrugged it off, assuming that they were last names and said,

"Hey, what's up."

Alisa noticed the waitress coming towards them.

"Will, I know you've never been here before, so do you want me to just order for you? That is, if you like seafood," she offered and he nodded.

"Sure, why not?" As the waitress came to the table, he noticed that no one had even touched their menus. Before she had a chance to speak, there was a chorus of,

"The usual!" and she nodded at them. Will was impressed, but then he noticed that the waitress looked a lot like...Alisa? She had a twin?? As the waitress walked away, Elizabeth noticed Will looking back from Alisa to the waitress and back again in confusion. Alisa was immersed in conversation with the guys, so Liz explained.

"Sisters. Leese and Anamaria are sisters. That's why they look so much alike. Anamaria is the older one, by the way."

"Aaah, I see. That's cool," he said and this time he wasn't as surprised when she talked to him. When Anamaria came back she was loaded with entrees of fish and chips, or as we like to call it, fish and potato wedges. Before the woman left, Leese managed to introduce him to her and Will became uneasy at the way in which Anamaria was looking at him. She left though, and so Will began to eat and talk and laugh with the others- he even saw Elizabeth laugh after a couple of drinks. Alisa didn't drink, though. Somewhere towards the end of dinner, Will noticed Ragetti, Alisa, Pintel, and Gibbs giving each other surreptitious glances. Liz saw the looks, too.

"Hey, what's going on?" Will asked when Liz didn't speak up.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Leese snapped at the men.

"Well, actually, some of us were thinking about hangin' out until late," Ragetti said.

"You wanna join us?" Pintel asked. Will didn't like the way that they were looking at him...he could tell that Pintel was trying to be casual, but he was definitely hiding something. Gibbs was silent. Will was about to decline the offer, but then Liz spoke for him.

"You guys! We've haven't known Will for but a day, but we know him well enough to know that he'd neeeever be able to hang with us!!" She gave a kind of laugh/snort and the guys began to laugh with her.

"Well, what's **that** supposed to mean?!" Will's face was red with anger. "I can do anything you guys can do and I can do it better!" he said indignantly. _Why am I being such a child?_ he thought inside after the words slipped from his mouth. _Who cares what they think? I don't even know them!_

"Don't pay any attention to them, Will. They've just been drinking," Alisa said, putting her hand on his arm reassuringly. This just made Will want to prove himself even more.

"No. I think they're right. I think he should come." The voice was smooth and strong, full of authority and wisdom. Anamaria had come back to leave the bill, but she had overheard the whole conversation.

"But-," Alisa began, but she was cut off.

"I agree with your sister," Gibbs said.

"Will, take them up on their offer. Show us what you're made of." Her voice was dripping of challenge and testiness. He couldn't resist--he was never one to turn down a dare, especially when pretty ladies were around. That was one of his weaknesses; he hated for people to think that he wasn't able.

"Of course. Wherever you guys are headed, I'll follow. For tonight at least," he said and he put down cash and a tip for the entire meal, which brought on cheers from the table. Alisa looked at her sister in confusion, but Anamaria just bid them a 'see ya later!' and walked off.

"Well, I guess it's settled, then," said Liz.

"What's settled, exactly?" Will asked.

"Um, I don't know. What's settled, guys?" she asked them.

"We're goin' ter the lagoon, me bucko!" Ragetti announced, and Alisa kicked him underneath the table—hard.

"What did he tell you about talking like that out here?!" she hissed, looking around quickly as if to make sure that no one had heard him.

"She's right. Let's just get outta here," Pintel said and they scooted out of the pub and made their way to the lagoon. _Oh, man_, Will thought. _I hope I make it home from "the lagoon" alive tonight!_

A/N: So what do you think? I bet you're wondering what's gonna happen next, aren't you? Well, as usual, you send me a review, and I'll send ye another bit o' the tale, I swear on me hidden dubloons!


	3. Gangbangahs

A/N: Hiya, everyone! Thanks so much for reading AND reviewing, because that really is very rewarding to me as an author to be able to read your feedback. Now, I know that you all looove me Jackie lad, so maybe-just maaaaybe-he'll go ahead and make an appearance?? Well, I'm not about to tell ya, so you'd better read the chapter or...or...I'll tan ye hide and make ye walk the plank!! Arrrrrg, I'm just messin' with ya. I won't tan ye hide...

Chapter Three: Gangbangahs

Will rode in front with Alisa in her truck and with Liz sprawled out in the back cab; the other men had taken their own car to the lagoon. Elizabeth was, quite frankly, plastered and nearly asleep, but Will and Alisa were very, very awake. Will was awake with anxiety and Alisa was awake with worry. She knew what was about to happen, and she wished that Will had not decided to go through with it. _If Gibbs wasn't following us, I'd have the mind to turn this truck around and take Will home!,_ she thought as she merged onto the highway. Will on the other hand was thinking of everything **but** going home. _I wonder what's going on? I didn't know there were lagoons in New York. Maybe Alisa is in on some sort of prank, after all, I am the new guy. But that would be so highschool-ish...well, whatever it is, I'm going through with it! _

It seemed to Will as if they had been driving for hours. The car was completely silent except for Elizabeth's unladylike snoring coming from the backseat; the only soothing noise to keep Will company was that of the wind caused by cars zooming around them. Finally, Will could take the silence no longer.

"Alisa, when are we gonna-," he began.

"Right now," she said gloomily. "We're here." He noticed that they were no longer on the highway- he must've dozed off at some point during the drive because now they were in a rural area. The only thing to be seen for miles was tall grass, what looked to be a medium sized haunted house, and a body of water that was actually pretty large. She stopped the truck in a gravel lane along side the house, but she didn't get out.

"What are we waiting for?" Will asked as he watched the men park their car and get out to head into the house. Alisa sighed.

"I just wanna make sure that you're really up to this," she said, staring straight ahead with a solemn look on her face.

"Alisa, whatever this is about...you can tell me. Now. Before I really get myself into something stupid," he said as he shook her a bit for emphasis. Alisa was about to answer him, but she hesitated. That one moment was all she had and she let it slip right out of her hands. Just when she was about to confess, Pintel returned outside with Gibbs, Ragetti and a few other men.

"Hey, let's go! We ain't got all night, savvy?" he shouted and the men laughed heartily as they practically dragged Will out of the truck. Liz was still asleep in the back of the truck, and Alisa was very grateful for that. Well, partially grateful. _I hope she doesn't wake up...although I just realized that I'm the only girl here, out at night in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of boozed up gangbangers... _Alisa decided to dismiss the last thought and just be grateful that Elizabeth was still asleep, because Liz knew nothing of what was about to happen.

When they reached the body of water, Gibbs began to make some sort of speech.

"Tonight we are here with this Will mate, and we're going to see what he's made of. Because if he wants to be seen with the likes of us, he's gonna have to pass the test and prove his worth- just like we had to do!!" This was followed by a loud yell of 'Ay!!' and 'Pass the test!! Prove his worth!!' As Gibbs continued on, Will began to get a little worried. He had been so sure that this was just some childish game, but now he was under the impression that it was a bit more serious than that. He looked over at Alisa to see if she would tell him what was going on, but she just sadly looked away. So Will decided to survey the lagoon, see what he was up against. The water looked deep, probably about 20-25 ft, and the distance it covered was a football field...or three. Looking down he couldn't see anything but blackness. Deep, dark, scary, unknown. He gulped, but he didn't have much time to become any more nervous, because the men suddenly began closing in on him.

"Now, your task is simple. Ye go down into that lagoon and ye find our treasure. Will, ye bring it up to us, and ye become one of us. Ye come back up here without our treasure..." Gibbs stopped talking. They were silent, watching, waiting to hear what they already knew would be said. "If ye don't bring us our treasure then ye die, Will. We'll run ye straight through and through, if ye get me drift," he finally said while glaring down at him. Will looked down at the man, surprised that he could be so feisty for being half his size. Then he laughed. He laughed so hard that tears began to roll down his cheeks and he had to clutch his stomach to ease the pain.

"That is the funniest fucking thing that I've ever heard! So, what? I bring you 'ye treasure, arrrg!' and you let me 'be one of ye'? Ok, I'll play along since I obviously have nothing better to do on a Friday night, but tell me this. What exactly am I supposed to be looking for?" he asked them, as he began to strip his clothes and shoes off. They glared at him.

"Ye tell us," Ragetti said, and then he and Pintel grabbed Will around the arms and began to swing him back and forth over the water.

"Have a nice swim!!" they cried, and he was thrown feet first into the depths of cold, dark water.

When Will felt the cold liquid surrounding him, he panicked. _Air, I need air!_ he thought and he quickly kicked back to the surface, gasping for breath.

"Get back down there now!!" they shouted at him. _They didn't say anything about throwing me in..._he thought angrily, but he took in his air and ducked back under anyway. Opening his eyes, he couldn't see much. All that was visible to him were the large amounts of green algae and a few fish swimming around. _Treasure...gotta find that treasure._ He had put up with their taunting during dinner, he had ridden all the way out here, and he had been thrown into the water—he was **not** about to walk away now! He swam forward, liking the feeling of the water around him. It didn't seem so cold anymore. After a few more yards, he came up for more air and went back down again, this time going deeper. As he swam deeper and deeper and farther and farther away, things under the water seemed to change. The temperature was no longer a cool warmth, it was a comfortable warmth, as if he was in bed surrounded by blankets. The fish became more numerous and brightly colored; the plants were more than algae, they were of different colors, shapes, and textures. Will reached out to feel a pink colored plant and was surprised when it felt ice cold. _That is really, really weird_.

_And where is this light coming from?_ He had finally realized that it was so dark that he shouldn't be able to distinguish black from orange, but as he paid more attention, he saw that a golden glow was cast about him. He turned around by twisting his body and paddling his feet a little. _No one's here with a flashlight or anything_...He looked up. _There aren't enough lights around the lagoon for it to shine this deeply. _He decided to go back up for air one last time-he was getting tired, not only from physical exertion but from the childish games that drunken people tend to play. Will swam back down to the depth that he had been at and began to swim forward when something caught his eye. _Is that a_..._nah, it couldn't be_. Excitedly, he began to swim forward and deeper a little faster, certain that it was indeed some sort of large wooden figure sunken in the bottom. When he finally reached it, it took all of his strength and maturity not to piss in the water right then.

_Holy shit. I'm actually looking at a sunken ship!!_ The "wooden figure" towered above him at least 20 feet and it was no less that 100 yards wide; Will could see that now that he had gotten close enough to it. The ship was constructed of wood, half of it rotted away and the sails long gone. He could see no cannons on it, but he did see two huge holes in it, on the deck and in the right side. _I've got to check this out._ He was just about to swim closer to it, when he was grabbed from behind. Fear stricken, he struggled and kicked which made him lose his air faster, and Will soon felt a dizziness overcome him as he blacked out underwater.

Will opened his eyes a few minutes later to find himself in an extravagant bedroom. It's walls were painted crème and there was a golden glow cast by the dozens of candles set up around the room. There were blood red curtains over the windows and antique wooden chests were scattered around the place. Will was laying on a chaise lounge (also of a deep red color) across from a magnificent four-poster bed that had gold and red draperies around it. The whole room had a sort of ancient, yet royal, feel to it. It would have looked quite romantic, except for the steel prisoner chains that adorned the far wall and the few skeletons that kept the room company. But when Will finally noticed another type of décor littering the room, he shot up, which made him dizzy, so he laid back down and then sat up again, slowly.

"All this gold..." he breathed quietly, as he gaped at the piles and piles of gold coins, statues, chains, and trinkets that peeked out of chests, spilled over onto a desk and set of dresser drawers, and randomly littered the floor.

"That's right, lad. What? Did ye think that the light was so golden because of the candles? Hahaha, that's a new one." Will slowly turned his head to see who the voice belonged to. _Who the hell is he? He wasn't with us at the restaurant and he wasn't outside by the water, either, _Will thought as he stared at the man. He wasn't far from 6 feet tall and he had a lean, athletic body. His skin shone in the light with a deep tan and his hair was long and medium brown, with random pieces twirled into braids and some pieces with little golden beads and trinkets in them. He had a goatee and small mustache, kohl rimmed hazel eyes, and the best pirate costume Will had ever witnessed. He wore a red scarf around his head, a white shirt was halfway tucked into his black pantaloons, and black shiny boots almost reached his knees. Gold rings, earrings, and neck chains flashed on him, and swinging from his red satin belt sash was a long, curved sword on his left hip and a black pistol on his right.

"Ah, I see yer lookin' at me cutlass. Don't be worrin' about that just yet, mate," he said while patting the curved sword.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Will finally questioned him. The pirate grinned. _Damn, how much gold has this man got??!_ Will instantly thought at the sight of his two gold teeth.

"Me name's Jack. Jack Sparrow. Captain Jack Sparrow. But ye can call me Cap'n," Jack said with a slight sway of his body as he used his hand to emphasize the word 'captain'. Will raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm William. William Turner. But...you can call me Will."

"Ah, that's great, bucko, because I think we'll need to be gettin' to know each other pretty well in the coming days. I saved yeh from me lagoon out back. I don't know exactly **why** yeh were down there, I don't know exactly **why** yeh were half naked in the cold, but ya could've drowned if it weren't for me, lad," he said as he plopped down on the bed.

"Actually, I was doing just fine until you came along!" Will said. He got up from the sofa and advanced on Jack, grabbing him around the neck and pushing him down onto the bed. "Now, I don't know who you are, Jack, but I'm ready to get the hell outta here," he said as his handsome jaw clenched with fleeting patience.

"Let's not forget, me boy, that I have a loaded pistol...unless ye don't plan to reproduce," Jack quietly pointed out and Will quickly let go of Jack's neck and backed up when he saw the pistol pointed right at his...

"Nuts. I think you're just plain nuts! You're a lunatic!" Will shouted as he sat back down on the lounge.

"Nah, the rum just gets to me occasionally," Jack said and he reached under the bed to pull out a rum bottle, open it and take a long swig. "Ahh, that's better. I knew I was missin' somethin' right about now. Now, if I'm correct, I think that me crew might've gotten a tad restless with ya, but that's all taken care of now."

"Well, where's Alisa? And Elizabeth?"

"Downstairs." Will got up and began to run towards the door, but Jack's words stopped him. "Where ye runnin' to? They know all about me already. Well, maybe not that very, very attractive fair skinned bonnie, but Alisa, she knows all about me," he said, and took another drink. Will leaned up against the door frame.

"I knew it. She was in on this prank all along."

"Prank? I dunno about a prank, but I do know that ye have some pretty impressive guts about ya, and I'd like ye to be a part of me crew."

A/N: And therrrrrrrrre's Jackie!! So, he is now a main character, I'm sure you're happy about that. And I'll definitely get some romance going to accompany this adventure, that is, if you'd like me to. Well, me hearties, if that be the thing ye desire most, then let me know by clickin' that bloomin' button down there that be sportin' the word 'go' on it, ye catch me drift?


	4. A Few Answers

A/N: Go on and see what happens as I tell the rest of the tale. Now me favourite dialect really comes in strong, but we're still in present day, me lovlies, don't forget. Actually, this all happened last year, yes, I've met Jackie, how do ye think I know him so well??! Hehe, ok I'll stop with the bullshit and let ye feed yer hungry eyes by readin' me tale.

Chapter Four: A Few Answers

"Ok, I don't know what you're talking about," Will said as he and Jack made their way downstairs.

"Me crew, what are ya, deaf? Cause if that's the case, maybe I take that offer back..." said Jack and he watched as Alisa rushed over to him.

"Will!! Oh, my lord, are you ok??!" she said as she fervently grabbed his face and arms and hands, looking as though she couldn't believe he was standing in front of her.

"Yes, Alisa, I'm fine. I just wanna get out of here, I think." Will stopped her hands and reassured her that he was perfectly alright. Jack rolled his eyes.

"My God, woman, it was just a swim!" he said, but Alisa glared at him instead of calming down.

"Jack Sparrow, that's just like you! You're insensitive, rude, uncaring, selfish—" Anamaria appeared quite suddenly in the middle of Alisa's ranting and raving.

"Let's not forget who you're talking to, lil sis. He is **Captain** Jack Sparrow," she said, crossing her arms over her chest authoritatively.

"What the fuck ever! Will could've died! And let's not forget," she went on to add, "that he's not **my** captain, big sis!"

Elizabeth had woken up not long after Will took his swim and she was now quite sober. She stood up against the wall with her arms crossed and an angry look on her face.

"Ok, well I have things to do today so I'd like to get back home now, if you don't mind," she spat out, looking directly at Leese. She grabbed Will's arm and Liz's, too, and dragged them to the door.

"Alright, I understand the lass has a life, but I want you to think about me offer, savvy??" Jack called out after Will.

"Good evening, gents," Alisa muttered sarcastically, and soon the three of them were back in her truck, riding in silence on the highway home.

When Will was finally safe and warm in his own bed, he knew it was going to be impossible to get to sleep. Even though he was pretty tired after the evening's events, he did get a good nap while being knocked out...He sighed in exasperation after an hour of tossing and turning. He just couldn't get Jack's words out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. There were so many questions burning in his brain. What did Alisa and Anamaria have to do with those men? Why was his house so far out of town and where'd that lagoon come from? How did Jack get all of that gold and what was up with the pirate get up? Oh, yeah, and let's not forget, what the hell was a sunken ship doing in the man's backyard pool??! Even though Will knew that the men had been drinking, he began to get the feeling that they weren't kidding about him 'finding their treasure'. _But what does it all mean??_ he thought, and he finally fell into a fitful state of rest as the sun's rays were peeking through his windows.

Alisa and Elizabeth were having their own troubles. When they had reached Elizabeth's house, Alisa ended up staying overnight there. Of course, Liz had a ton of questions that would not be left unanswered.

"I cannot believe you! You let him get all caught up in that?! He could've died!" she cried, when Leese got through telling her what had happened while she was asleep.

Alisa was practically in tears.

"I know that, ok, but what was I supposed to do? He wouldn't listen to me! I told him to forget about it, that they were just drunk, but he wouldn't let it go, Liz! It was like...like he couldn't control himself. It was crazy and you were drunk and Anamaria was being a total bitch..." She was talking so rapidly that it seemed to Liz as if she were speaking in tongue half the time.

"Fine, fine, just slow down. Calm down. I get it, ok? Things got out of hand. But that still doesn't explain that Jack character and all of that 'captain' talk. What was that about?" Liz asked as the two snuggled under the covers of her lush queen sized bed.

"Please, Liz, just don't worry about it. It was stupidity. They were all drunk. He was just another of the men," she said and turned around so that she wasn't facing her.

"Ok, fine, but then why was Anamaria the one saying that captain stuff? She wasn't drunk, I could tell. She was perfectly sober and perfectly serious," Liz argued on, fluffing up a satin pillow to her liking.

"Please, Liz. I'll tell you everything there is to know in the morning. You **and** William. Please," she mumbled out. Elizabeth was about to argue some more, but it was too late. Alisa was already fast asleep.

Will woke up around two in the afternoon. His body was sore and he had a slight headache, but he felt oddly refreshed. _Man, what a night_, he thought to himself as he got up to go get in the shower. He was deeply enjoying the hot water beads massaging his tired back and shoulders, when his doorbell rang to interrupt his relaxation. _Great. I wonder who this could be? _The doorbell rang again a couple of times in a persistent manner, so he turned off the water, grabbed his towel and briskly walked to the front door. It rang again.

"Alright, I'm coming already!" He opened the door to be greeted by frosty cold air and frosty cold, serious looks from Elizabeth and Alisa. Well, Elizabeth's was frosty cold, but Alisa's was....kind of...blank?? _JE-SUS, bless him!!_ she thought as she unintentionally stared at his muscular form in the doorway. He was dripping wet and his toned arms, chest and calves were glowing from being massaged by the hot water. His hair looked extra delicious while it was so wet and messy and the fact that he had on only a towel wrapped around his lower body made everything else just slip away. _He is so fine..._

"We need to talk." Liz spoke for Alisa when she realized that her friend was currently mute, although definitely not blind. _Oh, brother. Alisa is going to be talking about this all day_, she thought as she pushed past Will and into his apartment. He closed the door after Leese regained her composure and walked inside, too.

"Right. Well, let me go get dressed," he said and turned to leave.

"Let me help you with that," Elizabeth said absentmindedly in an almost inaudible voice. Will froze and turned around and Alisa looked shocked. Snapping out of one of her very rare 'spacing out' moments, Liz saved herself. "Joke. Duh," she said, rolling her eyes and plopping down on his leather sofa. He shrugged his shoulders and left the room, leaving the girls alone. _Was that disappointment I saw on his face?_ they both thought to themselves as they waited for his return.

A few minutes later, the trio was seated in Will's living room, both he and Elizabeth waiting for Alisa to speak.

"First of all, I just want to say that I'm sorry for last night and that both of you deserve an explanation." There was silence. Leese cleared her throat. "Anamaria...is part of a gang. Jack's gang. He's the leader and everyone you saw there last night follows him," she said.

"So was that the headquarters?" Liz asked.

"What kind of gang, exactly?" Will questioned.

"No. Not exactly. Well, I don't know everything about them, because I refused to join. I have better things to do. And all I know about them is that they're like...modern day pirates. Kind of. They go around looting rich people's houses and robbing banks and such. 'Steal from the rich, give to the poor' kind of thing—except they end up keeping most of the goods for themselves, unless Jack is feeling generous. Which is practically never."

"Ok, so...what's this treasure thing about? The men said something about finding a treasure," Will pressed on impatiently looking for more answers.

"And what was with your sister last night, defending Jack and urging Will to take part in the challenge. I mean, I know she's part of the Pirates, but she wasn't drunk," Liz said. Alisa sighed.

"I know, I know. She wasn't drunk. But, Will, the men **were** drunk. There is no treasure in that lagoon. The only treasure there is is the junk that they steal from other people. Now, Maria, on the other hand...I don't know what her problem was. There's so much that she doesn't tell me. So much that she can't tell me...cuz I'm not a Pirate," Alisa concluded as she stared down at her white K-Swiss. There was more silence. Then Will stood up.

"Thanks, Leese," he said affectionately, which got her heart beating. "But I have some stuff to get done so...I think it's time for you ladies to get going for now. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude," he quickly added, but they had taken no offense, for they found the situation quite awkward. As they were leaving out the door, Elizabeth hesitated as though she had something to say. Will looked her in the eye, curious to see if some other interesting comment would come out of her mouth again, but she said nothing except for 'goodbye, Will'.

"Goodbye, Elizabeth," he said quietly. She huffed.

"For the second time, it's Liz," she said stubbornly, but he just looked at her, which made her stomp after Alisa after giving him an irritated glare. After closing his door, he made up his mind. _I'm going back to that house tonight, and I'm gonna see what this is all about. I just might take him up on his offer_.

Will was tired of being thought of as the pretty rich boy, even though he was popular and had a ton of people who didn't think anything of the sort. _But I **am** just a pretty rich boy,_ he thought to himself. _That **is** what people should think of me. All my life I've done everything except make a real difference. All my life I've proven to people that I'm charming and smart, athletic, fun, kind...but what good is that if I don't have anything to show for it? I don't want to be the grandparent with boring stories to tell his grandchildren...they're not gonna care how many touchdowns I scored or how high up in an advertising company I was, and neither should I! I'm through with this. I'm gonna be a Pirate if it kills me!_

When nine o' clock rolled around, Will decided that he could wait no longer. He had convinced himself that his earlier thoughts were just derived from his impatience and extra adrenaline from the events, but he still couldn't just forget everything. Getting into his classy silver convertible, he began the long trip on the highway to pay Jack a visit. When he finally arrived at the house, he saw that there was only one light on, the one in Jack's room. _Good, he's awake then,_ Will thought as he turned off the engine and got out of the car. The next thing he would have done would be to go up to the steps and knock on the door, but something told him to have a little look around the grounds first. Of course, he started with the lagoon. He walked the length of the entire water body, but he knew that it was for nothing. _If I ever want to see that ship again, I'll have to go under...but not tonight._ As he walked away from the lagoon and around the rest of the property, he noticed something shiny in the bushes. Growing excited at the thought of finding some new piece to the puzzle, he began to run toward the shrubbery at full speed. Pushing the leaves aside, he saw a motorcycle hidden away. _Why would Jack hide a motorcycle in the bushes of his own house??_

"Get away from my bike, you idiot!" Will spun around at the words to come face to face with Elizabeth Swann.

A/N: Go on and gimme a piece o' yur mind, luv, yeh know ya want to.


	5. Bad Luck

A/N: Hello, me hearties. Thank you for being so patient with me. I've been in and out of the hospital this week and my computer's been giving me grief on top of it. But I know that you don't want excuses, so read your long awaited chapter, and enjoy!

Chapter Five: Bad Luck

"Elizabeth! What are you doing here?!" he loudly whispered. She pushed him out of the way to re-conceal her vehicle.

"Well, I hope you didn't think that you were the only one who wanted answers. And, unlike you, I was smart enough to not only hide my vehicle, but turn it off a good distance away. Lucky for us, I think he's too drunk to know that anyone's here," she said with an air of superiority about her.

"Hey, just because you want to hide from him, doesn't mean that I want to. Unlike you, I came here to talk to him, not to snoop around," Will shot back. He was getting a little annoyed by her snobbiness. _Why does she always have to put me down like that? _

"What do you mean you're here to see him? You can't just waltz into the house of a crazy man and expect to come out with everything you went in with!" _Pretty jocks are always such idiots! _Will began to walk briskly towards the front steps, so Elizabeth hurriedly followed.

"For your information, he invited me. He offered for me to join the Pirates and so...well, I'm gonna at least talk to him about it," he said, still a bit unsure of what his final decision would be.

"Are you crazy??! Since when do you run about joining gangs, robbing people, killing whoever gets into your way??!" she hissed at him with her hands on her hips and a stomp of her foot. He almost laughed. _She's kinda cute when she's angry..._

"I'm a grown man, Elizabeth. I do what I want," he said and pounded on the door.

"Wrrrahk!! Juuuust a minute!! Wrrraaahk!!" They looked at each other, both with a raised eyebrow. Jack opened the door with a colorful parrot resting on his shoulder. They looked at him, silent.

"Hey, now, don't look at me like that! It's not my fault 'ol Cotton left his lil' pet here last night! Don't know how he's been getting along without him, the blessed mute that he is..." Jack trailed off, muttering to himself and taking swigs from yet another bottle of rum. Liz and Will took the fact that he didn't slam the door in their faces or shoot them with his hanging pistol as a sign that they were allowed to come in.

"Jack, I need to talk with you. In private," he said, with a look shot toward Liz on the last statement.

"Hmm...maybe he got another parrot. Or, sign language, perhaps?" Jack rambled on to himself as he went up the stairs.

"I'll be back," he told Elizabeth as he followed Jack.

"I want to come to! I didn't come out here for you to be the only one to get answers!" she whined, her bottom lip sticking out slightly. _She's even kinda cute when she's being really, really, annoying..._he thought as he dismissed her request.

"No. Stay here, or at least, don't follow me," he said and took the steps two at a time to catch up with the captain.

When he entered the room, Jack was already laying comfortably on his bed, shoes and all.

"Welp, I've been expecting ya, lad. Take a seat," he said. Will sat on the red lounge.

"I s'pose ya have questions, but before I answer them, I need to know...do you plan on joining me crew??"

"Well, I don't know yet...would I miss any work?" Will asked, the thought just now running through his mind.

"Ah, bloomin' Santa Maria, lad! Yeh can't be worryin' about those things!"

"Why not?"

"Because! They're not important! Now, listen closely. You're either a Pirate, or yer not. Plain and simple."

"Fine, fine, whatever, I'll join your crew. But first..."

"There's always a but first with people these days. Can't they just trust a man?" He took another swig of rum.

"But first," Will continued, "I want to know why you want me in your gang."

"Crew."

"Ok, crew. Why me? Elizabeth was there and you didn't ask her."

"Don't need another woman. They're bad luck."

"Fine. But why me?"

_Because ye found me treasure and I need to keep an eye on ya._ "Because, Turner, you're a good swimmer. And you've got guts. A captain like me needs more crew members like you," he said. "So are ya with me, or are ya with me?"

"Alright. I'm with you. What do I have to do?"

"Ah, we'll worry about that later," he answered with a wave of his hand. "Right now I think we should go check on the bonnie lass before she finds somethin' that I'd rather her not be findin'," he said and Will followed him out of the room.

When the pair returned downstairs, Elizabeth was gone.

"Here, let me check outside. I know that she has things she wants to ask you, too," Will suggested. Jack stayed in the house, and Will immediately ran over to the bush to check for her bike. It was gone, but there were tracks in the dirt. Tracks that led off of the property. _And she made such a big fuss..._He shrugged his shoulders and went to give the captain a farewell.

"I'll call ya when yer needed, lad. Till then, sayonara," he said, and as he closed the door, Will could hear a rough echo of "sayonara! wrrraaak!". Will then turned around, got into his car and headed back into the city.

Meanwhile, Liz was about to get some answers "in private", too. _In private. In private! Who does he think he is? Two can play **this** game! _she fumed inside as she stomped out of her hiding place and began to climb the ivy growing around Jack's window. Not only was she angry, but she was also soaking wet. She had made tracks with her motorcycle leading off of the property, but then had half carried, half dragged it through the grass to lean it up against the back of the house. Suddenly, Will had come running across the front yard as she was about to hide in some of the overgrowth near the front steps. In a haste, she darted around his car and slipped into the lagoon as quickly and quietly as she could.

Now her hands were cut and sore from climbing, but she didn't care. She was sick of guys always getting what they wanted while the girl had to just accept things the way they were. At least, that's how it was in her family with her and her brothers. Being the youngest and the only girl, she had it rough. At first, she loved being the baby because she would always be taken care of and be able to sway her parents' decisions. But as she got older, she realized the not-so-good consequences of her situation. She could never be seen with a guy without her brothers interrogating/threatening him to death, everyone was way to overprotective of her because of her age, and she never seemed to be heard, let alone taken seriously.

Finally reaching the open window, she slipped inside of the dark room. She had never been in Jack's room but she instantly sensed that it was different from the rest of the house. _It has an aura of...mystery. And honor. Suffering...and adventure..._She thought of all of the adjectives she could as she tiptoed around the room, running her fingers over all of the gold and listening to Jack's snoring. _I'm surprised that he's asleep, it's only midnight. Shouldn't he be robbing someone??_ Liz was smirking to herself when she noticed that the snoring had stopped. She froze in an attempt to prick her ears up, but it was too late even for that. She was grabbed from behind and put into a headlock.

"I know the smell of my lagoon, even during sleep, bonnie," Jack said and he laughed as he released her to light a candle.

"Really, Jack," she gasped, rubbing her neck, "why don't you just turn on the light? We're not in the olden ages!"

"Captain. It's **Captain** Jack, luv," he corrected her with a sigh and a sway of his body as she flicked on the light switch. "Now, would ya like to tell me what you're doin' here so late at night? In my bedroom? Soaked through to the bone in my lagoon water?"

"Sure I would. I'd love to tell you. After you answer a few questions of my own," she said, and to prove that she wasn't leaving until she got answers, she plopped down on his bed and crossed her arms over her chest with a look of defiance.

"Alright, luv. What do you want to know?" He sat beside her.

"I want to know why you live all the way out here by yourself in this fright of a house that you call home." Jack's face went blank as if he didn't understand her English anymore.

"Well...because I like it?"

"Fine. But why do you go around robbing people. Killing people. Participating, no, leading this—this gang! Those poor men probably will never know a better life because of you, Jack!"

"First of all, dearie- "

"It's Ms. Swann."

"Hey now, if you'll remember to call me Captain Sparrow, then I'll remember to call you Ms. Swann."

"Well, you're not my captain, because if I remember correctly 'you don't need another woman, they're bad luck'." With this, Jack's eyes widened and then became squinted in thought as he rubbed his goatee. "Yes, I know that you said that, **Jack**, because you are not quiet and I am not deaf."

"Ah, yes, now I remember saying that. Anyway, my crew is very loyal to me, ya don't know what we've been through together, lass," he said.

"Ok, well what's with that lagoon that your dog of a nose can smell so well?"

"Ah, I think I'm gonna need a bit o' rum for this." Jack lifted one of his pillows to bring out a bottle, pop it open, and swallow half of it down.

"Well? What's with the lagoon?"

"I like to swim. Now, I'd like ye to get off of me bed before you completely soak it up," he said and she hopped up, mortified at the telltale wet spot in the shape of her butt. "Heh heh. That is rather pretty. A pretty wet spot for a pretty bottom, eh?" Jack said with a rummed up grin that was, suprising to Elizabeth, very sexy. He walked over to a chest and pulled out a rich, expensive looking gown that was, unsurpingly, blood red to match his room. "Yes, I think this will fit you," he said to himself and then brought it over to Liz.

"Oh, no. There is no way I'm about to wear anything of yours! You probably raped a woman and then stole the dress right off of her, for all I know." This got him angry.

"It's time I had this word with ye, for that mouth of yers is a bit too spirited for my taste," Jack growled as he backed her up against the wall. "Now, I know ya don't know me that well, luv, but I'll let ya know this right now. The only thing the lasses fear of me is the day that I might settle down with my one-and-only bonnie lass." The entire time that he spoke, he pushed Liz farther and farther into the corner until she was forced to either be still or be stabbed by his sword. To emphasize his point, he was taking his hands and rubbing them gently over her breasts, her waist, and her thighs while pressing up against her. She was in awe, and heating rapidly. _Oh, wow. I think I might be seduced by a pirate tonight..._Suddenly, he pulled away. Leaving her practically panting, he smirked.

"Savvy?" he said and tossed the dress at her, knowing he had won. _That little..._she thought, but began to undress anyway. She didn't want to catch a pneumonia.

Undoing her jacket and pulling her sweater over her head, she didn't notice that Jack was contentedly watching her while drinking his rum. _Hmm...that's nice right there. Ah, yes, and those there, too. Hmm..._he thought and leaned back to better enjoy the show.

"Jackie? What's going on?" He jumped up, startled at the smooth voice that he knew so well and almost dropped his bottle. Almost. Elizabeth looked up as she was pulling the dress up over her legs.

There stood Anamaria in a silky red robe that had slipped open to reveal some...revealing lingerie. He cleared his throat.

"Now, Anamaria," he began and she stood up straighter, glaring at him with her dark brown eyes, hands on her shapely hips, waiting for his explanation. "Ana, baby. Mia darling," he said softly as he walked slowly, cautiously toward her. She began to stride towards him at full speed. _Oh, dear..._

A/N: Another chapter for your thoughts? I would give you a penny, but I think Jackie stole it.


	6. Show Me Da Boss, Bloke!

A/N: I'm kind of wondering where all of my lovely readers have gone! I do want to give a special thanks to Terradaina for continuing to read and give feedback. I have also decided to make things a little more personal by addressing each reviewer at the end of the chapter, starting with reviews from chapter five. Hey, you give me feedback, so it's only fair for me to acknowledge it the best that I can, right?

Chapter Six: Show Me Da Boss, Bloke!

Slap!

"Don't you 'Ana, baby' me, you dog! I should've known. That's all that you're good at is stealing treasure and bedding women!" she yelled into his face, waving her arms about herself wildly. He grabbed her wrists.

"Anamaria, don't forget who you're talking to! I am Captain Jack Sp-," Jack began in another feeble attempt to get her to calm down. It didn't work. She cut him off with hearty spit into his face.

"Ask. Me. If. I. Care," she growled out, accentuating every word. _Captain, my ass. This man is nothing but a bitch. Bitch_.... "And you!! What are you doing here?!" she screamed as she ripped herself away from the stunned Jack and made her way towards Elizabeth.

"Anamaria, it's not what you think. I...I..." Liz wanted to tell her the truth, but she didn't want to go into all the details.

"You, you, what?" She mocked her with a smirk on her face as she stood, hip cocked out and arms crossed.

"I fell into his lagoon...because Will came to talk with him and I decided to tag along! And...Will got mad at me and pushed me in, so Jack gave me this to change into! I was just leaving, really I was." The words rushed out of Liz's mouth and she was surprised to realize that she was afraid of Anamaria. _I don't know why I'm so afraid right now, but I hope she doesn't have a dog of a nose that can smell fear as well as Jack can smell his lagoon._

Maria spun around to face Jack, who had just gotten through scrubbing his face with a cloth.

"Is this true, Jack?" she asked. He looked up.

"Well, yes, of course, darlin'. Of course it's true!" Elizabeth made her way to the bedroom door after grabbing her wet clothes.

"I'll just be going now. Nice seeing you again, bye," she stammered and rushed out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the house. She threw her pants and shirt into the compartment on her motorbike and hopped on in Jack's dress, speeding off of the property as fast as she could.

When the weekend was over, it was time for Will to head back to work at the office. He had been on edge all day on Sunday, waiting to see if Jack might call on him, hoping that he would get to accompany him on some sort of adventure. But lady luck was not yet with him, so there he sat at his desk composing a table of which magazines would publish Ionary's newest ad that month. _I do wonder what Elizabeth's doing. And Alisa, too. When will I see Jack again? What exactly will I do as a Pirate? _When he got done with the graph, he decided to take his lunch break before presenting it to Norrington.

He shut off his computer, made his way down to the break room and, deciding on a cup of Ramen Noodles, he began to heat them in the microwave. As he sat down with his lunch a few minutes later, he noticed a gruff looking man sitting in a corner alone, across the room. _That's odd_, Will thought, but he wasn't one to judge so he just kept quiet and contented himself by looking at the posters on the wall. Each was of past Ionary advertisements, and a few were graced with Elizabeth's face. Those were the ones he found himself staring at the longest. _There she is as a cowgirl for KC Masterpiece's Rodeo Smoked BBQ Sauce...oh, she looks beautiful in that one, with all of the diamonds and the ball gown—I wonder if she has any Zale's Jewelry of her own?_

"Hey, bloke, do you know where Swann is?" The man had come up behind Will's seat while he was engrossed in his thoughts.

"What do you want with Elizabeth?" he asked with a furrowed brow, and he set his fork back down into the noodles. The man looked confused.

"No. Not Elizabeth. I don't know an Elizabeth. I want Mr. Swann. Mr. Weatherby Swann," he said.

"Uh, yeah, I think so. Why? Do you have an appointment with him?" Will was suddenly getting suspicious of the man. _He doesn't look like he has any business with Elizabeth's father...but oh well, what do I know?_

"Well, uh, erm..." The man began to try and give an explanation, but Will stopped him.

"Sorry, sir, none of my business. I'll lead you right up there." He threw away his trash and showed the man to an elevator. They were the only people inside and both of them stood a bit awkwardly as the elevator went up, up, up to the very top level. "Level 10, here we are." They stepped out and Will immediately noticed yet another gruff looking man in the same type of attire as the one he was with. He looked back from one to the other as he advanced on them. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked, aware that something definitely was not right.

"Just take us there, we need to talk to him," the new guy said, his wretched breath hitting Will's senses strongly. Will's nose cringed. _I don't like this feeling I'm getting. I'm telling security._

"I'm not taking you anywhere. Good day, gentlemen," he said and turned around to go back to the elevator. That's when he felt the barrel of a gun against the back of his neck.

"You'll take us where we want to go, and where we want to go is to Swann," he said calmly. Will began to walk, slowly, not knowing what else to do. _Ok, it's either do what they say or get shot up. But...they don't know if I'm taking them to the right place..._ "And don't get any ideas, youngin', or else I'll blow your brains out," he added. Will clenched his teeth in frustration and continued to the door labeled SWANN. The first man knocked on the door.

"Come in!" President Swann was sitting at his desk, completely unaware of who was at his office door. He had his feet up on a foot stool and was casually reading a paper. No one entered. _Well, that's strange..._He got up to open the door himself and was promptly kicked in the groin. "Oof!" he groaned and doubled over holding his crotch; the men began to laugh.

"That's right, you big lump of nothin'! We've finally gotcha." The man with the gun aimed it on Pres. Swann when he tried to press the security button near the doorframe. "Ah, ah, ah! There'll be none of that now!" he said.

Will was quick. The men were focused on Swann and the gun was off of him, so he took that moment of opportunity to tackle the man with the gun to the ground.

"Run, Mr. President! NOW!" Mr. Swann did just that. He ran down the emergency steps as fast as his thick legs could carry him, leaving Will to deal with the two men by himself.

"Don't just stand there, you stupid idiot, go after him!!!" the tackled man yelled as he struggled against Will to get the gun. The man ran out after Weatherby, and Will began to throw punches. _God, I hope Swann can run. I can't keep fighting him much longer..._He was right. In the next moment, Will was thrown off of him and he began to scurry for the gun. Will got up and ran out the door as the first shots were fired, just missing grazing past his body.

Will was at home a few hours later, sitting on his couch with Alisa. He had ridden to the police station with Mr. Swann to answer some questions; the two men had gotten away. He sighed.

"You know, Alisa, I can't believe that that happened," he said as they ate the ice cream Will had served them fresh from his freezer.

"Yeah, me either. But he is a rich man. They were probably wanting to take him for ransom or something." She took a bite of her vanilla.

"Yeah, maybe..." Will murmured. He had stopped eating and was now deep in his own thoughts. _I should've gone with my gut. I knew I shouldn't have been telling that man anything in the break room. I should have run right when I saw the other guy waiting there. He didn't know about Elizabeth. How could he know about the Pres. without knowing about his daughter?_ Then it dawned on him. _It wasn't ransom... if it was ransom, they would've been trying to take Elizabeth instead!_

He was about to enlighten Alisa with this breakthrough discovery, but little did he know, she had been trying to get his attention for the past couple of minutes. Now she was sitting much closer to him.

"Will?" she said quietly. She put her hand on his shoulder gently. "Are you o.k.?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just...I don't know. I was thinking," he said and he took her hand in his own, still holding a far off look in his eyes. She brought his attention back to her by touching his cheek with her free hand.

"You can tell me anything, you know," she whispered.

"I know..." There was silence as they gazed at each other. Their eyes didn't hold desire...it was something else. Understanding, perhaps? Alisa understood that Will would like to be comforted after the long day and Will understood that there was some sort of attraction between them. Before they knew it, they were leaning their faces together, about to kiss.

TAP, TAP, TAP! The sound of knuckles rapping against his door stopped them.

"Sorry, one moment," he said and he hastily got up to answer his door. There stood Elizabeth, looking as beautiful as ever, her face a bit rosy from the wind.

"Hi, Will," she said softly as he gazed at her, part of him surprised to see her, and part of him hypnotized by her beauty.

"Hi," he whispered, for his voice seemed to have become handicapped. Alisa came up behind him. Her coat was on and she was tying her scarf around her neck.

"Hey, Liz. Will didn't look so good, so I gave him a ride. I was just leaving, though," she said in a nonchalant manner. She breezed past Liz.

"Hey..." she said. _Maybe I shouldn't be here,_ Liz thought. It hadn't dawned on her that she and Will would be at his house. Alone.

"I'll see ya'll later!" Alisa called behind her as she lightly bounded down the steps and disappeared around the corner.

Liz stood there in the cold outside of his door, slightly shifting her weight and biting her lip. When Will realized that he was just standing there like an idiot, he found his voice.

"Uh, Elizabeth, please come on in," he said and stepped aside to let her in. _We're gonna be here...alone..._There was a moment of still and silence that seemed to be critically necessary for the current situation...

"Thanks," she finally said and stepped inside to let Will close the door behind her.

A/N: And there we have it. The latest part of me tale. Please review! Oh, yes:

Terradaina, I'm glad you believe that I'm doing Jack's character justice :)


	7. The Ass Grabber

A/N: Welcome, new reader endoreovende( ). Now, I can't answer all of those questions right now, it'll ruin the tale, luv! And about Will and Alisa/Liz: most of my readers are asking to have Will and Liz together, but I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see.

Terradaina: I'm glad that you liked my action scene, but I'm sorry you can't stand Alisa. heh heh. I can't kill her off, darlin, that would be too easy! Don't worry, I think you'll get to like her—for awhile at least ;) And, no, Terradaina, YOU rock.

Chapter Seven: The Ass Grabber

Will and Liz sat down on his sofa together and she shed her coat. Will sat still across from her on the other end clasping and unclasping his hands. Finally he jumped up.

"Ice cream! Do you want some? I've got plenty in the freezer and there's strawberry, chocolate and vanilla!" He stood there waiting nervously for an answer.

"Ice cream...ice cream sounds good. Strawberry, please," she agreed and he left quickly to the kitchen_. Ice cream? Ice cream?! My God, man, you couldn't think of anything better to say? I am such and idiot!_ he thought as he began to scoop out some of the frozen treat. When he returned to the living room, there she sat, waiting. For the ice cream. For William. "Thanks," she said and they began to eat in silence, this being his second bowl. "So, William, I came to thank you," Elizabeth finally said in between a bite. For the second time that day, Will's eating utensil was brought down halfway from his mouth.

"For what?" he asked in surprise. _And why is she suddenly calling me William?_

"Well, for saving my father's life, of course! If it hadn't been for you, he probably wouldn't be safe at home where he is right now." She was finished with her ice cream so she set the bowl down on the coffee table and Will did the same with his.

"You don't have to thank me, Elizabeth. Especially since I was the one who brought those men to his office in the first place."

"But it was an accident Will. And for goodness sake, they had you at gunpoint! You could've been shot, even killed!" She had become heated with these words, her face getting flushed and her voice an octave higher, hands motioning passionately. Then there was silence; Will didn't know what to say. "But you still fought for my father's life," she added in a near whisper. _She's so beautiful._ Her hair was in waves that she had tried to pull back into a ponytail, but deep honey locks were falling in random pieces around her face. Her features had softened from the warmth of his apartment and the words she had just shared, and Will thought that he liked how she was looking at him. She broke the gaze, though and clearing her throat, she pointed at a picture on his wall.

"What's that picture of?" The picture included a brick house, large but not intimidating; it was surrounded by a ton of snow and a man stood outside in the drive holding a big shovel and smiling.

"Oh, that's our house in Manhattan. And that's my stepdad. He's a cool guy, been takin' care of me for the longest it seems." Liz stood up and walked over to the "picture wall".

"And that must be your mother," she concluded, looking at a woman sitting on a park bench holding a baby boy in her arms.

"Yes," he said and got up to look at it with her. Seeing his mother and his home made him feel homesick, but he couldn't really think about that; his life was picking up speed.

"She's beautiful." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, watching her intently examining the picture. "You've got her eyes. And her lips, too, I think." It was then that Will turned to face her completely, and both realized what she had just said. _She's been looking at my lips as much as I've been looking at her's..._

_Oh, my. Did I say that outloud?_

"Uh, well, I guess I'd better get going. I've been here long enough," she said with a small smile. He grabbed her arm, a little more urgently than he meant to. He really intended on spinning her back around and grabbing her mouth in a kiss, but he knew he couldn't do that. To cover up his actions, he asked her the first question that popped into his head.

"Wait! Where'd you go? You know, at Jack's that night. We came back downstairs and you were gone," he said. _So, either he hasn't spoken to Jack...or Anamaria, or Jack just didn't tell him what happened_. Elizabeth decided to go with the first thought and her lips twitched in a bit of amusement at the memory of that night.

"Well, I decided that it wasn't...urgent to talk to Jack at the moment. You two were taking too long. I was tired," she said and she started to put on her coat. For some reason, Will didn't want her to leave. As he racked his brain for anything, anything to keep her from leaving, she made her way to the door and he had no choice but to follow her. "Well, I guess that I'll see you later, Will." There was silence. "And thank you, again." With this last sentence, she leaned forward and brushed a simple, gentle, quick kiss upon his cheek. It was enough to make Will have to grit his teeth to keep from grabbing her and pulling her close to him, though. And she knew that. And he knew that she knew, because she didn't back away from him until a loud knock sounded at the door. _Well, damnit, can't I kiss** someone** tonight??!_ Will thought in agitation as he unlocked and practically ripped the door open. He felt as though he could cuss out whomever was standing there, whether it was his neighbor or the queen of England, but seeing Jack made him forget that thought.

"Ah, am I interruptin' somethin'?" he asked with a wickedly mischievous grin.

"No, Jack. I just thought that I should have a chat with Will after the events of today. I was just leaving, though," Liz said and she stepped outside. "Goodbye, you two."

"Goodbye...Liz," Will said quietly and she smiled fully at him for the first time ever. He couldn't help but grin like a fool; she turned around and almost skipped down the stairs before disappearing out of sight.

"Aha, so there is somethin' between you two," Jackie said as he strolled inside and began making himself at home. Going into the kitchen, he opened the fridge and began to scan its contents. "Hm. No rum. That's pretty disappointing, Will, for someone who calls himself a Pirate," he said shaking his head in shame. Will had been about to retort Jack's earlier comment regarding him and Liz, but he quickly forgot at the mention of the crew.

"So, I assume that you're here to talk about me joining the crew," he prodded at the man who was now nosing through his pantry.

"Uh, yes. Of course. I heard about what happened tuh'day at your lil' job that you have, Turner. Mighty fine job you did protecting ol' Weatherby." He paused to have a laugh. "Weatherby. Ha! Who names their kid Weatherby?!" He was obviously distracted, so Will put him back on track.

"Yes, I helped protect him from the gunman. It was my job, seeing as how I was there and I was able to help. But what's that got to do with the Pirates?"

"Well, William," Jack began, as he took a box of Cheezits that he found in the pantry over to the couch and began to get comfortable. _Oh, man, I wish he'd just get on with it,_ Will thought as he followed him and sat, waiting for the captain to stop crunching. He didn't stop crunching; instead he found it perfectly satisfying to talk while he was crunching, resulting in a mess that Will would have to vacuum later.

"I have a sneaking suspicion that those two men were from Barbossa's (with saying this name he decided to spit on the floor, making Will crinkle up his nose) crew, which means that I need ya more than ever, mate."

"Barbossa? Who's that?" Will asked, completely forgetting about the mess and now completely engrossed in the tale that was about to unfold. At least, he thought it was going to unfold.

"He is a man who I refuse to call captain. But he has a crew of his own now. And his crew's trouble to us, so it's high time we get ya started on learnin' how to be a Pirate for real, lad."

"Ok, but you still didn't tell me how you know him. Why's he trouble? And how come he's not a part of your crew?"

"Ey, mate, ya don't ask yer captain personal questions like that. Now, tomorrow I want you to come to the Lady and bring yer courage and strength. And some rum. Yes, definitely some rum, lad," he said as he tossed the now empty snack box at Will and stood up to leave.

"The Lady?" Will inquired.

"Me house. Me lagoon. Lady," Jack said in a tired tone of voice.

"Oh. Right," said Will. _Well, I guess if you can name a ship, you can name other pieces of property, too._ Without another word, Jack Sparrow walked out the door and out of sight, leaving Will alone to finally get the long awaited sleep he deserved.

The next day at work was chaotic to say the least. Extra security measures were being set up and if people weren't at their desks, they were at some urgent meeting to discuss the recent events; if they were at their desks or in their offices, they were working themselves to death in an effort to try and make up for yesterday's lost time. Will was one of those people in his office, working himself to death.

"Hey, Maggie," he called to a woman presently rushing past. She slowed down to face him.

"Oh, hey, Will. What is it?"

"Can you go ahead and make some copies of these outlines while you're in the copy room? I'm really being killed by these new files...I could really use your help," he said, locking his gaze with her before she decided to brush off his request. She was about to say no, he could tell, but how could any woman resist those big brown eyes? "Please?" he asked, and his endearing tone sealed the deal.

"Sure, Will, no problem," she said, taking the papers in a slightly inhibited manner, since she obviously couldn't tear her gaze from his eyes.

"Thanks, Maggie, 15 of each will do," he said and flashed her a brilliant smile as she nodded. When she smiled and then walked away, he turned back to his desk and sighed deeply. _Where would I be without women around? _he thought as he loosened his tie, closed his eyes, and rested his head in his hands.

"Hey, champ, wake up! No time to dawdle, there's work to do!" A deep voice boomed behind him, making him jump in shock. Norrington was standing there, very amused at Will's reaction.

"Oh, well I wasn't sleep, I was just-"

"No time to explain, Mr. Swann wants to see us in his office. Now," he said and he began to walk briskly toward the elevator. Will hurried along after him, straightening his tie on the way. The moment they stepped inside, Will became distracted. He was automatically reminded of the day before, riding in the elevator with a man up to Swann's room...he closed his eyes and leaned up against the wall of the elevator, trying to push the memory out of his mind by thinking about what was in store for him at Lady that night. _What does that man have planned for me? Who all will be there? I do hope that I have enough courage and strength, because I couldn't bear failing. Especially now that my work is involved...and Elizabeth. Her father..._

"Let's go, William," said Norrington and Will put on his game face as they showed the guards their I.D.s and made their way to Swann's office.

When yet another guard let them inside, they were greeted by the company president.

"Hello, gentlemen. Take a seat," he said. They each muttered a hello and obeyed, sitting across from each other at the large wooden conference desk. "Now, you're probably wondering why I called you both in here. I want to start by saying thank you, Mr. Turner for your help yesterday. You were very brave and if it weren't for you...well, let's just say I might not be sitting here right now." Will decided not to mention the fact that he led the men to his office in the first place; instead he mentioned that there were 'no thanks needed, sir' and sat up a bit straighter in his chair.

"Right, well, Mr. Norrington I have an issue to discuss here. You are Executive Supervisor of the Media Sales department..."

"Yes, sir."

"Therefore you are in charge of making sure that our clients' sales are prospering due to our unique methods."

"Yes, sir."

"And now Will Turner shall be your partner in a new campaign from our biggest client of the year...because I am promoting him to the position of Assistant Executive Supervisor of the Media Sales department!" Will's eyes went wide and he looked at Norrington to see what he thought of this. He looked completely fine with the arrangement.

"Sir, thank you! I'll be honored," he said and reached across to shake the president's hand.

"Tomorrow morning there will be a mandatory meeting with the Creative Publications executives in order to discuss ideas, etc., understood?"

"Yes, sir," they said in unison. Just then a voice came over the pager.

"President Swann, you have a call on line two," the woman from the front desk said.

"I'm a bit busy..."

"Mr. Swann, it's a Mr. Hector Assobrab and he says that it's urgent." At this, Will and Norrington raised an eyebrow at each other and began to quietly snicker. _Ass...brab...sounds like ass and grab!_ Norrington thought. _And Jack was making fun of Swann's name...Weatherby and Ass Grab...this is too much!_ Will thought. Swann sighed.

"Please tell him to leave his number and I'll call him back in a bit," he said and she agreed to pass on the message. "Yes, the meeting is tomorrow morning, so I expect both of you not to disappoint." Both men nodded understanding and began to leave. "Oh, and James," he said. Norrington faced him.

"Yes, sir?"

"I suppose you'll be stopping by sometime soon to pick up Elizabeth?" Will was almost out of the office, but at this tidbit he perked up his ears and decided to do a little eavesdropping outside of the door.

"Yes, sir, of course. I would very much like to take Elizabeth out again, if that's alright with you. And her, of course."

"Oh, don't worry about Elizabeth, she thinks you're a very good man!"

"I think very highly of her, too, I assure you." At this, Will decided that he'd heard enough and he began to gloomily make his way back to his office. Will didn't understand what was going on: he had saved the president's life, gotten promoted the very next day, had pretty women interested in him wherever he went...but for some reason that he could not explain, his whole day seemed to be ruined; the only thing left to look forward to was the Lady.

A/N: You guys, I love hearing your thoughts on the tale and your questions and opinions—they help me write. So, now everyone, I think you know the deal: if you review, there's a new chapter I'll reveal......mateys! ARRRRR!


	8. Pimpin' Rides

A/N: Hey, everyone. I'm back. I've found that it's getting more challenging to write these chapters because the plot is about to get twisted. But don't worry. I'll keep writing! The songs in this chapter are by: Beyoncé, J-Kwon, Jojo, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Fefe Dobson, respectively. I like all of the songs listed, by the way, but just because I do doesn't mean that Will does! Thank you for continuing to read despite my delay.

Elessar-Lover: I changed the summary for you. Do you think it's better? And I'm glad you like it, so keep reading!

Terradaina: Ah, my lovely loyal reader. Is Alisa killing you yet? Don't worry, things will go more to your liking soon! And that was a great idea, and it wouldn't have been so obvious. But I guess the way it turned out was ok, because you all know something that Will doesn't! Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Eight: Pimpin' Rides

Eight thirty finally rolled around and Will decided that it was time. He had been getting ready for the past two hours; usually it took him a shower, tooth brushing and a shave to get himself publicly acceptable, but tonight was different. Tonight, most of his "mirror time" was spent giving himself a pep talk. Now, he was in his car replaying the things he had said to himself in the mirror: _Will, you're gonna do great. This is the night you've been waiting for-you finally get to do something exciting, something to prove yourself. No one will be able to call you "just a jock" after tonight. Just don't screw up. Don't screw up. Don't screw up. _

After a few minutes of driving, he decided that he was calm enough to stop obsessing and listen to some music. Switching from station to station he found it hard to find some music to suit his mood. **Baby boy you stay on my mind, fulfill my fantasy**_....No..._.**Errrbody in da club gettin' tip-say!!**...._No..._.**Leave! Get out! Right now!**...._Oh, God, no! _Finally, he found something that he could feel at the moment. **Standing in line to see the show tonight and there's a light on...heavy glow...**He drove along, his nerves calmed and his mind in the music. As he came closer to his time to turn onto the highway, he realized that he was low on gas. Will pulled into the nearest gas station and began to fill up. **By the way I tried to say I'd be there, waiting for...**

He was looking around at other people filling up their tanks and walking in and out of the convenience store, because he was the type to people watch. There was a beagle sitting in the backseat of a brown station wagon, visibly shaking from the force of his vigorously wagging tail. He smiled at the dog absentmindedly as he thought about his own dog, Wufford, that was back home and probably curled up on his bed at that very moment. **Dani the girl is singing songs to me beneath the marquee...overload...** A baby girl was walking hand in hand with a woman, wobbling shakily on her feet; Will smiled at that, too, because, being an only child, he had always had a certain craving to care for someone younger than him and to be looked up to. When his meter said $17.46, he stopped the pump-he only had 20 bucks on him, but it would be enough for tonight. **By the way I tried to say I'd be there, waiting for...**

He began to walk through the cars and gas pumps when he saw a flash of honey brown curls go into the store. _Elizabeth..._.was the first thought that came to mind, but he quickly pushed it out of his head as he remembered that the thought of her upset him for some reason. He stood in line to pay his bill and seeing the candy at the other end of the counter made him think of Alisa. His heart smiled. _Alisa...we almost kissed last night,_ he remembered happily. **Songbird, mainline, cash back, hard top...**

"Hey, kid you're next." The old lady behind the counter looked rough and smelly, her hair was greasy and plenty of her teeth were yellowed.

"Here, add these, too," he said and he grabbed a bag of Sour Patch Kids and handed them to her. When the bill was paid, he walked back into the brightly lit gas pump area to his car. His mind was clear and the song was still playing in his head, running through his brain, but he couldn't help but notice those honey locks again, this time dashing into a shiny red Jeep. Shaking his head, he blew it off and began to drive again. **Standing in line to see the show tonight and there's a light on....heavy glow...**

Half humming, half singing to himself, Will sped further to his destination. But he quickly began to notice something peculiar. Glancing yet again into his side mirror, he saw that the red Jeep from the gas station was...

"Is that Jeep following me?" he thought aloud, and to test, he took a turn that was a bit off route. Just as he thought, the truck also turned a moment later. "Damn..." he muttered. **Skin that flick, she's just a little DJ... **_What if it's those men??_ he thought, becoming more paranoid by the minute. **Get there quick, by street but not the freeway...**He started to sweat as he drove faster. **Turn that trick to make a little leeway...**His tires squealed once as he narrowly dodged a semi truck while trying to switch lanes. **Beat that nic but not the way that we play...**When he looked back up after two more crazy turns, the car was gone. He sighed, slowed down, and rolled his window down to cool himself off. _Wow, that was close._ He kind of chuckled to himself, trying to convince himself that he was probably overreacting, but he couldn't help being a bit irrational. He was still on edge about the shooting, the ship under the lagoon, his new job position, Elizabeth...

"Stop thinking about her!!" he shouted at himself as he drove his silver car back onto the right track to Jack's. He was about to turn on the radio to better drown his thoughts, but he started listening to someone else's instead. **We went for a ride, oh oh. We went for a ride, hey yea. We went for a ride, ladadeeoh. We went for a ride, oh oh...**

_Hey, I'd know the sound of those speakers even if I was deaf,_ he thought with a smile. The song was booming so loudly it could be heard even over the rushing vehicles and highway winds; it was bumping out from a sleek black truck which was pulling up to drive on his right. He rolled down his window to honk and wave at none other than Alisa.

**We went for a ride, undercover of the twilight and the traffic on the road. It was only you and I, I hope we never get back home...**

"ALISA!!" he yelled to her, but he didn't have to because she had seen him already. She rolled down her window and honked at him, laughing with her dark curls blowing from the wind. '**Cause I'm feelin' serenaded by the coming of the night, and I wish we'd go forever. And I wish that we could...**She turned her speakers up even louder and playfully stuck out her tongue, so he decided to press the button that retracted the hood of his convertable back. She made an 'oooh, I'm impressed face' before revving her engine and speeding up. **Drive away, we could drive away. We could drive away, into the night...**

**"**TWO HUNDRED FIFTY HORSEPOWER V6 ENGINE, BABY!!" he faintly heard her yell as she got ahead of him. He laughed and sped his car up also. **We went for a ride with your words of consolation and the trees of crystal white. I'll be praying for a red light to extend this precious night...**After his car was at a good speed to keep up with her without crashing into the backs of other cars, he put it on cruise control to show a little trick of his own. He quickly looked around for cops before turning to her and giving a sexy, mischievous, boyish grin. **Cause** **we both know where I'm going and we know it just ain't right...**She raised an eyebrow in curiosity and then watched as he carefully began to stand up in the drivers seat, balance himself and do a little jig in the moving car. Her mouth dropped open and then as he plopped back down she started laughing. **But there's nothing we can do except to keep on moving...**Seeing that Alisa was amused, he laughed too and they kept driving until they reached Jack's place.

When the two daredevils pulled onto Jack's front lawn, Will tossed the bag of candy at Alisa.

"I was thinkin' of you," he said with a smile and she smiled back before linking her arm in his; they began to walk to the front porch together. "By the way, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, I was thinking of you, also. I had a feeling you'd be coming here tonight..." She trailed off as they walked up the steps. When they stopped in front of the door, she grabbed his hand before he could pound on it. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked him with a slightly pleading look in her eyes.

"Yes. I'm sure."

"Well then...I'm not gonna let you do it alone." They smiled at each other again, and Will raised his fist to knock.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't these two lovebirds!" Jack purred out upon opening the door. He then looked at his wrist and frowned. "You're late. You're real late, lad."

"Sorry, Jack, but-" Jack cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows expectantly. Will started over. "Sorry, Captain, but I didn't remember you giving a time...and I don't see a watch on your wrist," he said. Jack rolled his eyes and stepped back to let them in.

"Do you have to ruin my fun, William??" he asked in an exasperated tone. Will ignored him and walked over to the rest of the group, who were already seated. Anamaria stood up.

"Alisa, what are you doing here?" she asked her little sister in a teenage tone of voice that clearly said 'go away, I'm with my friends'.

"What's it to you? Since when do you care where I go?" Alisa's voice was dangerously defiant and her eyes seemed to darken to an even deeper brown.

"Alisa. Go home! This isn't some sort of kiddie game, alright?"

"Anamaria. I'm not ten years old anymore! I'm a grown woman and I can do what I want. And what I want is to be here. My friend," she pointed at Will, "could've gotten killed the other day, and I have a feeling that you know why!"

"Ohhhhkay, ladies, let's cool it down a bit, shall we?" Jack said, stepping in between the two women who had quickly closed the eight foot space that was previously between them. They stopped bickering at each other and turned on him with identically lethal glares, simultaneously putting their hands on their hips. Jack's eyes grew wide. "Oh, dear..."

"Jack's right. Enough is enough," Will said and he firmly grabbed Leese and Maria's arms and tugged them over to the staircase. "Look, Alisa, I'm glad that you came here to support me, but you two obviously have some things to talk about." He turned to Anamaria. "So I think it would be best if you'd go upstairs with your sister and talk about them." They didn't move......Finally, Alisa spun around and stormed up the steps, slamming Jack's bedroom door behind her. Maria frowned and made her way to go back to the group, saying,

"You only **think** it would be best!" He grabbed her arm and turned her back around, giving her a little push up the stairs.

"No, it would **definitely** be best! Now go on...go on! You'll be fine, go," he said when he sensed the uncertainty she was feeling. A few moments later, she had disappeared into Jack's room also. There was silence. _Well, at least they're not killing each other, _Will thought and he made his way back to Jack.

"Erm, are they alive, lad?" Jack seemed somewhat concerned. _Hmm, that's not really like him. Did I miss something?_

"Yeah, they're alive. They'll be fine. So what's on the menu tonight?" Will asked trying not to seem too excited.

"Well, mates, Barbossa is having some festivities tonight. So I thought we'd go and crash them, what do ya think of that, eh?" Jack said, exciting his crew who gave hearty shouts of,

"Aye, Cap'n!!"

"Wait! Barbossa? But he sent his men to kill me!"

"No, lad, he sent them after 'ol Weatherby. And we can't have that now can we? As Pirates it's our duty to protect the citizens of New York, no?" The men laughed heartily at that. "By the way, Turner, where's the rum?" _Uh oh._

"Well, see, I was going to pick some up, but then I was..." _Should I tell him about being followed?? No. I shouldn't. _"Held up by an accident. It was just so...terrible that I forgot all about the rum," he finished.

"Ah, well it's your first night so the punishment won't be so severe." He raised his eyebrows toward Will discreetly, and Pintel got up and gave him a swift kick in the rear that sent him flying. Everyone laughed jovially at the young man now holding his butt in discomfort. Will made his way over to Pintel having the urge to sock him in the stomach, but Jack continued talking so he just muttered a bit under his breath.

"Alright, men, time to go," Jack said. They all made their way to the door together.

"Hold up a minute! Hey, Captain, are we gonna travel in style tonight?" Ragetti asked with a hopeful grin. Jack stood there in front of the group pondering and stroking his chin hair.

"You know, I think that's a good idea. Tonight men, we're takin' me precious Black Pearl."

A/N: Please review. And if you think that this chapter sucks, don't be afraid to tell me. If you like what you read, tell me why! And of course, another review equals another piece to the puzzle, even if it takes me a bit of time. Thanks for readin', luv.


	9. Partay Over Here!

A/N: Ok, babes, ya'll know the drill. I don't own anything except the plot and Alisa. Please review when you're finished reading the chapter, even if it's a flame! This story depends on feedback, mates.

Terradaina— You're so funny. They haven't actually made out…maybe they will? Hmm…And maybe the adventure in this chapter will suit you? I hope so. By the way, where did you come up with your pen name?

Chewy518— Welcome, Chewy! I'm glad that you'll continue to read…there should be a saying or two so far that you will recognize ;). And thank you, oh so gracious one, for deciding to review /…

Orlando's Hot Chick—Sorry, but I can't tell you that! You'll just have to read and find out, silly. Tell you…how cute is that?

Chapter Nine: Part-ay Over Here!

Jack led the crew around the back of the house and they began to walk past the lagoon and through slightly marshy woods. Usually a walk wouldn't faze Will, but this was just so creepy. The trees were close together and the pitch black seemed to smother him; all he could hear was the crunching of leaves beneath his feet and the heavy breathing of the smelly, rugged Pirates. Will's nose had begun to run from the cold before they finally slowed down at a clearing in the trees. He could automatically sense that this clearing was of importance. A foggy mist surrounded it and the area was so silent- in the rest of the woods, owls and wild animals could be heard, but not here. Even the men seemed to have stopped breathing.

Will didn't understand. All he saw was a barn garage looking thing- it was nothing spectacular. Soon he would see, though. Soon he would see that looks could be deceiving. The crew stood still as their captain walked ahead and did some stuff to the wall of it. _Some sort of entrance code, maybe?_ Will thought as they began to walk over after the steel door started to slowly raise itself open. His breath caught in his throat as the ceiling lights flipped on one by one.

It was, in fact, a garage. A six car garage with five cars and one absolute beauty of a machine. Jack saw the look on Will's face; his mouth was slightly open and he stood shock still even though everyone else was getting into the Pearl.

"Hey, mate, even a Pirate knows the best vehicle isn't always seafarin'," he grinned, and gave him a proud pat on the back. Will just nodded, his mind still mush from the sight of so many cool cars right in front of him. A shiny blue Benz, green Mazda Miada, flashy Vespa motorbike, baby pink Cadillac, and a white limousine surrounded what was obviously Jack's treasured Black Pearl. Will slowly walked towards the huge, intimidating, onyx-black H1 version Hummer. Even he had to hop up to get inside, and when he did he was amazed by how much room there was.

"The Pearl has amazing off-road abilities. She can travel steep hills, rocky terrain, drive at sideways angles, and safely ride through 2 ½ feet of water," Jack said as he began to drive the back way out of the garage through the dark woods. He continued. "She also has power side mirrors, a six CD changer, steel doors, and night vision."

"Night vision!"

"Yes. Gibbs, show him how it works." Gibbs was sitting in the front and he pulled down a control panel, pressed a few buttons and a screen came down in front of Jack. "It allows me to see in the pitch black night 5X further than the naked eye could."

"Wow," he breathed quietly. He had only seen a car like this in advertisements. _This car…at least 150,000. This man does not work. Where'd he get the- oh yeah. He's a pirate. Wait, why aren't we on the highway?_

As if Jack could read minds, he said, "We're takin' a back route, crew. Highway's too obvious; they'll know we're comin' before we show ourselves."

Soon, they arrived at a large white mansion on a spacious country estate. It was atop a hill and the nearest house was down the road a few blocks away. They parked a bit of a ways away and walked up to the mansion. From outside, they could hear hearty cheers and loud singing. Jack whispered the plan loudly to them and William found out that he was to make his way upstairs and 'grab whatever booty he could find…after the fight was on, of course'. Will would know it was time for him to enter through the window when the time came, so for the moment he just decided to snoop and see what all of the festivities were about. Finding the window to the ruckus, he crouched down low and spied.

The golden light was bright and Will was blinded by the guests' attire. _Must be an all-white party_, he thought as he looked at their snow white pirate type dresses and suits.

"We kindle and char, inflame and ignite:"

"Drink up me hearties, YO HO!"

"We burn up the city, we're really a fright:"

"Drink up me hearties, YO HO!"

Will could see a stout man on the shorter side, probably 10 years Jack's senior, at the front of the room leading the guests in some sort of pirate anthem. _It sounds awfully…_._familiar…_He craned his neck and brought himself a bit higher to try and get a good look at the man's face. _Could he be Barbossa? _The man was slightly scar pocked in the face and had smoky eyes along with a beard. He also accessorized himself with a small monkey that was perched contentedly on his shoulder where a parrot might sit. As the song was finishing, deafening cheers, hoots and hollers filled the room and the leading pirate moved to accept a wine goblet. When the man moved, a woman was revealed. She was in a big white and silver gown and had a large white pirate hat atop her head. At first, Will thought that she was just sitting down, but as he squinted his eyes he could see that she was in fact tied up! Her hands were bound in her lap and so were her feet; she also had a white cloth gagging her mouth. Her shoulders were slumped- she looked as though she had been fighting, but had given up.

"Ladies and Gents, pirate lads and yer lasses, it has been a very rewarding evenin'." He was beginning his speech. "I would like to present a reward to these two lads here who succeeded in bringin' us our very special guest tonight." With those words, he removed the woman's hat and tossed it out to the audience amidst the hoots and catcalls she received. Honey brown curls fell limply around her face; she now held her head high, her jaw set and her eyes somehow impassively angered.

"Oh, my. God help me," Will breathed quietly as he looked at Elizabeth from outside. Suddenly, Will saw Cotton's parrot wobble in through an open window.

"Krrraawwwk, message! Krrrawwwk!" The man stopped talking. Everyone looked at the bird which was now front and center stage. Elizabeth's eyes widened. "You're a scallywag, scallywag…Barbossa you're a no good scallywag!" the parrot screeched.

Suddenly all hell broke loose as a shot was fired, the windows broke and Jack's pirates burst inside the room. Ladies began to scream and run for the nearest exit and the men began to scramble for their weapons. This was his cue, but he wasn't going anywhere without Liz.

"Elizabeth!" he shouted as he burst in through his own window and ran toward her. He had almost reached her when a disgusting looking man thrust a sword into his leg. He screamed out in pain. _Shit, how could I forget a weapon? _he thought as he saw the blood begin to pour out of his limb. _No time for that_. He got back up and punched the man hard in the jaw; he flew back and his head slammed into a statue, knocking him out. _That works for me,_ he thought and grabbed the man's sword. He continued to run towards Elizabeth and fight enemies off with his sword. When he reached her, he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder prepared to run outside. Jack's words ran through his head. _Where's the rum?...Well the punishment won't be so severe..._His eyes widened at the thought of what could happen if he messed up again and he turned around and began to run up the stairs. Liz began beating her fists on his back and screaming muffled protests.

"Sorry, babe, but I've got to get some loot. Or else my ass is grass!" he added as he clanked swords with another man.

He rushed into the first room he saw and locked the door behind them. Gently setting her down, he took the gag out of her mouth.

"Are you crazy? Who cares about the treasure, let's get the hell out of here!" She screamed as he untied her hands. She quickly untied her own ankles.

"Nope, I've got to find some money, gold, something! Either help, or find your own way out. Without my help." She was about to leave in a huff, but stopped when she remembered all of the fighting going on downstairs.

"Money? I can find money," she said and began helping him to tear the room apart. A few minutes later, they had succeeded in tearing apart two of the upstairs rooms. They found a few small gold statues, about 200 in cash, and a medium sized chest of who knows what.

"Well, I'm guessing that we didn't hit the jackpot, but that's as good as we're gonna get tonight!" Will said as they fought their way outside and ran toward the Pearl. _Hold on…_ "Elizabeth, how did you get here? What happened? Where are you going!" She was running toward a car, but it wasn't the Pearl. It was a red jeep.

"I'm getting outta here! Where do you think! Are you coming or not!" She screamed, barely looking back at him as she hopped in the driver's seat. He took a look back at Jack's men who were obviously dashing toward the Pearl- they were out numbered and it was a surprise none of them got killed.

"Yeah, I'm coming," he said and hopped in the other side, throwing the loot in the back seat as she kicked up dust by speeding away from the mansion.

A/N: And they're back in action! How'd you like it, lovelies? All of the things about the Pearl were true; if you'd like to see pictures you may go to  Reviews, reviews, I love reviews!does a lil pirate jig. Oh, by the way, there's a good chance that the next chapter will reveal the whole Elizabeth situation…


	10. Two Peas in a Pod

A/N: Hellooooo, everybody! Isn't this cool? I'm updating and it's only been a couple days! Thank goodness for Thanksgiving Break! Read and enjoy, mates.

Chewy518: Thank you for being crazy everyday so I can snag sayings! Yay, you like it, yay! Keep reading and reviewing, you know how much Turner and Sparrow loooove that!

Terradaina: Well, I'm glad we can make each other laugh! And I'm so glad you LOVED the last chapter. I don't know if I'll have them make out…yet. But I'm glad you think my penname is hot ;).

Orlando's Hot Chick: Well, I'm glad that you like my story and the car! Thanks for reading.

Laurelindorenae: Wow, that's also an interesting penname. Have you read the other chapters? I hope you do, and thanks for becoming a reader of my tale!

Chapter Ten: Two Peas in a Pod

Elizabeth had driven her and Will all the way to her home. He was now sitting in a chair, too afraid to even look at his wound. She had quickly disappeared into her room muttering 'that bastard, I'll have nothing to do with this dress, how dare they, they will pay for this…'. She was back now, in casual attire- jeans and a sweater.

Starting up a fire in her fireplace, she took a glance at Will. _Why is he looking at me like that?_ she thought, beginning to feel a little self-conscious. He didn't mean to look at her so intently, but it was a challenge not to. _Maybe I should stop looking at her…but the way she's bending over the fire-and in those jeans! _She cleared her throat and came over to him.

"Here, let me take a look at that leg, Will," she said and she pulled a footstool next to him and sat down on it.

"No! I mean…I can just go-" he began. He didn't know why, but suddenly he felt shy about being touched by her.

"Shh. Come on, just let me see what I can do. After all, this is the second time you've come to my rescue." He looked at her then, not knowing what to expect; she gave him a small smile, which he returned. He drew in a sharp breath as she pulled his pant leg up. "Yikes. I think I can fix it up well enough, but you'll definitely need to see a doctor in the next day or two. I'll be right back." With that, she left the room and Will sat in silence near the fire. _So…it was her. She has the red jeep. She was following me…_Elizabeth then reentered the room carrying a bowl of steamy water, a soft rag, antiseptic, and bandaging.

She sat down on the stool next to him. "Now, this might hurt a little…" she began as she dipped the rag into the water and prepared him for the contact.

"AAHH!!" he yelled out and jumped about a foot when it touched his wound. She flinched visibly and then gave him 'the look'.

"I just told you it was gonna hurt, you baby! Hush up-no, don't do that-get back here, William!" He had quickly gotten up and went for his coat, but it wasn't hard for her to drag him back since he was limping. "Now. Please hold still," she said and she gently started to clean the area. _He's definitely not enjoying this…let me take his mind off of it._ "So. I guess you decided to join the party tonight, huh?" Will opened his eyes.

"Yeah…I didn't really know I was invited until it was too late," he joked and she laughed.

"Jack's idea?"

"Yes. I went to visit him. And suddenly I'm going to a party…and suddenly I saw you. What were **you** doing there?" She had successfully averted his mind and was applying the stinging antiseptic.

"Well…you see… what had happened was… " She trailed off and he waited patiently. "Well, I was out driving…and I realized that I was being followed. By two men. I thought if I pulled into a busy gas station, it would scare them off of my heels."

"Would that happen to be the gas station near 49th?" he interrupted as she tightly wrapped the bandaging around him.

"How did you know?"

"I was there. I knew I saw you! In your red jeep. Why were you following me?"

"Following you? I wasn't following you! I just told you, those men were following me! And then I tried to get away, but it didn't work. Then I ended up driving right to their little party!"

"Oh. Well, I was driving away from the station and I kept seeing you in my rearview mirror and I thought-"

"Oh, I know what you thought, alright. You thought that I was so pitiful and so stuck on YOU that I would be desperate enough to follow you around all night!" She got up and glared down at him. "Then, you thought that because I was SO pitiful and stuck and desperate, I would really need YOU to be my handsome prince charming and come to rescue the 'wittle helpwess model'. And to think that I brought you back into MY home and cared for YOUR wounds out of complete graciousness without a single condescending thought in my mind!" She marched over to the door and opened it.

"William Turner, you may see your way OUT!!" She shouted as she ran back into her room. He got up dumbfounded. _Is she serious?!_ She returned holding the white gown that she had been forced into and, angrily, she began ripping the thin fabric into shreds with her bare hands before tossing the dress piece by piece into the fire. She looked up after the 10th piece to see him staring at her. "I said, GET OUT!!!" she screamed at him. The anger in her voice shocked Will and he quickly grabbed his coat and limped out of the door.

Frustrated, Elizabeth tossed the rest of the dress into the flames, laid herself down beside the fire, and began to sob hot tears that had been waiting to be cried for a long, long time.

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Outside, the wind was harsh and snow was falling harder by the minute. _Why did it have to snow tonight? When my leg is half busted and I have no way home? _He had been sitting for about a half hour, away in a tiny park that was near Liz's house, shivering from the cold, trying to ignore the pain in his leg. _I save her and this is how she repays me? Sheesh._ Then his subconscious decided to pitch in. '**_Well, you shouldn't have accused her of following you.'_** _Yeah, I guess not._ He sighed, stretched himself out, and began to drift to sleep on the wooden bench.

"William! William Turner!" Will awoke to the sound of a girl's voice calling out to him. He sat up to find himself swaying slightly on the wooden deck of a ship. "Oh, there you are, Little Bill! I thought I'd lost you!" He smiled at the young girl who sat down next to him. Her long dark curls were pulled back into a ponytail and she had a black hat on her head-it was much too big. She held out her arms and he crawled into her lap. "And if I lost you, I'd be in big trouble, huh, William?" she said and they laughed and laughed…

"William? William? Why are you laughing?" Will's eyes popped open to see a concerned Elizabeth standing over him with her fists clenched on her hips. It was so cold and dark, too. It must've been one or two in the morning. _I can't believe that it's only been a few hours since I left my home…crazy._

"Elizabeth! Hey. Oh…just a dream, I guess." He was a little surprised to see her, but he was also wondering what that dream was about. He felt…very young, maybe four years old. Who was that girl, though? And why was he on a ship? _Oh well, "little bill", it was just a dream._

"Ok…Well, look, Will. I'm sorry about what happened in there. I want you to come on home with me." His face lit up in a surprised smile. "Because you look like a bum sleeping on a damn park bench," she continued as she helped him up. _I knew it was too good to last,_ Will thought.

They began walking back to her house, each of them wrapping an arm around the other's back. _I'm only helping the poor cripple…but it does feel kinda nice,_ Elizabeth mused inside her head. It started to snow again just as they were coming up her walkway, so they shuffled a bit quicker to get inside.

"Whew, this is much better!" he said and she helped him with his coat.

"Yeah, I agree. Here, you can have my bed tonight, and I'll take the couch."

"No! You don't have to do that, I'll gladly take the couch," said Will and he sat down on it as if to finalize the deal.

"If I were to come to sleep at your house, would you have me sleep in the bed?"

"Yes."

"Well then this only makes sense. Now go, before I have you outside again." She didn't have to tell him that one twice. Soon, the man was snuggled up in her bed, clothes on because the fire had died and the heating system hadn't made the room warm enough yet. The bed was beautiful, had satin everywhere, and it smelled like girl. What could be better for him? Out on the couch, Liz was not having as good of luck. She tossed and turned and turned and tossed…she was four inches longer than the sofa and it was not making her happy. _Ok, that's it! I'm takin' my bed back, buster!_

He was just about to fall asleep when he heard padded footsteps. _Elizabeth…what is she doing? _

His heartbeat quickened against his will as she tiptoed over to the bed. Before entering the room, she was planning on telling him to go take that couch that she so generously offered him earlier. _But…he looks so…cute. And peaceful… I suppose it couldn't hurt…_She sat down softly on the bed and waited to see if he would wake up. He didn't move. She slid under the covers, making sure not to touch him. But somehow, just a few moments later, his hand found hers. He heard her gasp softly, but he didn't show any signs of waking up. He smiled. _She's awake…and she didn't move away from me._ In fact, she had laced her fingers in his and gave his hand a tiny squeeze. Both Miss Swann and Mr. Turner fell asleep with a small smile gracing their features.

A/N: So, how'd you all like it, hm? Yes, they're together, but probably not for long. Hey, it's only the beginnin' of me tale, what do yah expect?! There's no cliffhanger this time, but believe you me, I **will** make up for that! By the way, as I was writing this, I realized that a certain part reminds me of a certain part in one of my favorite Disney movies. Can anyone tell me which one I'm thinkin' of? Anyway, I know somethin' that'll happen after they wake up! Do ya wanna know? Ah, but alas, ye have to keep yer end of the bargain first…savvy??


	11. Lies and Loyalties

A/N: Oy, Lovelies. I am deeply apologetic for the delay. I hope that you all had a wonnnnnderful Thanksgiving and that you all will have a terrific holiday. Please accept this chapter as my gift to you—I only hope that it is juicy enough to make up for my untimely manner.

LunaCorrona: Thanks, chica, and welcome to my tale! And no, it is KFC!! I hope you keep reading.

Chewy518: Only you would think that Will dreaming about his childhood is "pervvy". Mind—OUT of gutter, silly. And stop havin' them vapuhs, for goodness sakes, we went to church **twice** this week, for the love of Christmas! lol

Ralinde: I'm so glad you're enjoying the tale, keep reading, it gets better! (Well, I'll do my best, of course!)

Terradaina: Yes, Beauty and the Beast is correct! And of courrrse I had the fireplace in the chapter, I'm not going to simply ignore your requests……I am afraid that I will have to pick and choose though! Making out......not yet, luv. The French version..I'll have to check it out!

Darkmistylagoon: Lol, I appreciate the complement. I'm glad that you are looking forward to the next "chappies" and I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, even though I am way late.

Chapter 11: Lies and Loyalties

Will woke up around noon to the smell of…_Is that…honeysuckle? Wildflowers? What do I know and what do I care? It smells great!_ He inhaled deeper and then coughed when his nose got tickled by strands of hair. His eyes flew open in shock when he realized that he was smelling girl hair. Elizabeth hair. Sometime during the night, she had found her way into his arms which were snugly wrapped around her torso. _Wow_, he thought. _This is a dream._ Then he got a glimpse of her alarm clock: 12:03. _Oh crap. I'm not at work. I'm not at work because I'm in bed with a woman. In bed with my boss's daughter. Oh, man._ He carefully slipped away from her and climbed out of the bed. His leg was actually feeling a little better, but he decided to use that as an excuse to miss work that day. He left the room and went to use the phone in her kitchen, calling straight to Norrington's office.

"Hello, this is James speaking."

"Hey, Norrington. I've got bad news."

"William. Why aren't you here? What is going on? I tried to call your house a million times! The big meeting with the Creative Pub. execs was this morning and we **both** were supposed to be there!! I cannot believe you didn't show!!" He was freaking out. Just spazzing. Will smacked his forehead. _The execs meeting! How could I forget? Oh, man. If he doesn't believe this, he'll go to Swann and I'm fired for sure._

"Look, I know that the meeting was this morning and I'm sorry. But I got into an accident last night-"

"An accident?"

"Yes. And my leg got busted up…I could barely walk. I'm going to have to go back to the hospital today. So I won't be in." He waited to hear Norrington's response, practically holding his breath. It was half true, but he was paranoid about the effectiveness of exaggeration anyway. Luckily, he didn't have to worry.

"Oh, man…well, don't worry about it. I covered for you, but I'll go ahead and tell Swann the truth," James reported.

"Ok, thanks, I owe you. Wait. What exactly did you do to "cover" for me?"

"Well…I told them that you were…sick…"

"Sick? Sick how, Norrington?" Will was getting worried about what he would have to face upon his return to the office.

"Ah, well, you see…diareahha."

"WHAT?!"

"Well, first I told them you were in the bathroom, hoping that you'd show up any second. When some time went by, they asked me to go look for you…I called and called…well, I decided to say that you had to go home because of-"

"Because of diareaha. Yes, thank you, oh SO much."

"No prob! Well, get better and come back soon, my man!" Will rolled his eyes and hung up the phone. _I hope Alisa doesn't hear about this…_

"What's this I hear about diareaha?" Will cringed at the sound of Liz's voice behind him. _Aw, maaaan…_

He turned around, about to explain, but all he could do was stare. She looked…different. Even after all of the getups he had seen her in- the casual elevator attire, a cowgirl outfit for KC Masterpiece, white party, pirate-style dress- he never ceased to be amazed by her beauty. Her soft curls were mussed up from tossing and turning in bed, her face was free from makeup, and she looked so relaxed in her Japanese style kimono robe. Leaning up against the wall with her arms crossed, Liz looked back at Will, only half thinking about what she just asked him. She had woken up that morning feeling extra warm. She felt oddly relaxed; usually she felt tired in the mornings, but this was a drowsy, comfortable feeling she had. Liz had taken a deep, satisfied breath and smiled when she smelled guy in her bedding, but then her eyes had snapped open when she remembered that William was the guy who had been in her bedding last night.

_I wonder if he still smells like that…fresh, showery stuff_, she thought as she looked at him in his wrinkled clothes from the night before with his wild brown hair. His face was no longer clean shaven, but Liz didn't mind…she thought it made him look extra "guyish".

After a few moments of looking at each other, Liz decided to break the silence. "Well, never mind that. There's plenty of food in the fridge, Will, make yourself at home," she said and she turned around to go into the bathroom. He let out the breath that he didn't even know he had been holding; he was glad she had decided not to pry about that phone call and he was glad that she was offering him something to eat. Finding out that his current crush was dating his coworker, having to sword fight to save his kidnapped crush, getting kicked out of the house with a busted leg during a blizzard by that crush, and then falling asleep-waking up cuddled next to her, all within 24 hours…man, that could make a guy hungry!

He began to pilfer through the refrigerator in search of some breakfast-y foods. _Hmm…eggs, milk, bacon…not bad. I didn't know models ate these things._ As he began to look for pans in the cupboards, his ears pricked up at the sound of the shower turning on. His lips spread into a soft smile as he thought of Elizabeth slipping out of the robe and into the water. The smile turned into a smirk of a grin as he began to fry the bacon on the stove. Twenty minutes later, Liz emerged from the bathroom looking beautifully refreshed and, a little to Will's disappointment, fully dressed. He saw her take in a deep breath.

"Wow, I didn't know you could cook, Will. It smells great!" He handed her a plate full of steaming bacon, eggs, and toast along with a tall glass of 2 milk.

"Well, my mom taught me. We used to cook the meals together on the weekends since I was always so busy during the week," he replied modestly as they sat down on the sofa together. They both ate in comfortable silence, eagerly chowing down because Will was not the only one who was hungry. When they had both finished, Will stood up to take the dishes to the kitchen.

"Oh, no, I'll get that!" Liz said, jumping up and reaching out to take them. Will deftly dodged her hands.

"If you had been a guest in my home after I took care of your wounds and shared my food with you, would you want me to at least just let you wash a plate or two as thanks?" Her mouth dropped open slightly as she realized that he had just played her own game with her. He looked at her patiently.

"Yes."

"Good. Then I'll continue with what I was doing," he said and continued walking toward the kitchen.

"Will?"

"Yeah?"

"That was really good. Thanks," she said. He nodded and turned around, but he only took two steps before she called his name again.

"Yes, Elizabeth?" _Is she going to let me get to the kitchen?!_ he thought, even though his heart undeniably began to beat faster at the shy expression on her face.

"Don't feel like you have to repay me…you-" Before she could say what she had said twice before, Will cut her off by briskly walking back to her, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek, and then flashing her a smile before disappearing into the kitchen. She smiled to herself in pleasant surprise as she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. _He kissed me… _Her grin dribbled of toothpaste as she smiled at herself in the mirror. Just then, a knock sounded on the door. She rinsed out her mouth and made her way to the door just as Will was unlocking it. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw how Will stiffened up. _Who is it? Please don't let it be another pirate in my doorway!!_ She timidly approached, and then relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Oh, hey James. Thought you were someone else. Come on in," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. _Why do they keep staring at each other like that?_ she thought as she closed the door and made her way to get her coat on.

James spoke. "Turner? What are **you** doing here?"

"I, uh, well…"

"I thought you were going to the hospital!" _Uh, oh,_ Elizabeth thought as she buttoned up her coat front.

"Well, Alisa is taking him! She's just using the bathroom right now," she quickly interrupted. Looking back from Will to James she didn't know if she was happy that she just saved Will like he had been saving her, or if she was upset because she had been lying ever since she met him. Will looked back and forth from Liz to Norrington, unsure if he should be happy that she just covered for him, or upset because she was going out with Norry. Norrington squinted his eyes. He was no fool. He took Elizabeth around her waist and held the door open for her, looking sternly at Will.

"I didn't know that my girlfriend was such a good nurse, William, but I trust that that's all she was. And that I'll see you bright and early," he muttered, tight lipped. Will just looked at him guiltily until he closed the door behind him.

_So now what??_ he wondered, but then it became obvious when he began to feel a burning pain in his leg. _Ah, right. Hospital._ He called Alisa on the phone and told her what had happened…well, he did leave out the park bench, and the dating, and the feelings he had. She took him to Cartwright Medical soon after he called, and Will had to tell the doc that his injury was from falling on someone else's ice skates on the pond the other night. Will found out that he only had a slight infection, and was relieved when the doctor told him that antibiotics and continued topical care would do the trick. Will did wonder though: what lies he would have to come up with next?

"So, Will. What else happened between you and Liz last night? I know she took you to her house after you got sword-cut in the leg…but you were there all night," she said suggestively. They were in her truck riding to Jack's so that Will could get his own car back.

"Um, Alisa…we didn't do anything. At all. Trust me," he answered. He was a bit amused at Alisa's implications, but decided not to tell her about sleeping in the same bed as Elizabeth lest he further encourage her crazy imagination.

"Ok, ok. So would you wanna do something with me instead?" If Will had been drinking something, this was the part where he would have choked.

"Uh, well, what do you mean?" he stammered out. She glanced at him with a grin.

"I mean, I'm going to meet up with a client tomorrow. You know, ask him a few questions about his account, etc. I could really use your support," she explained, but when Will didn't seem so thrilled at the mention of work, she went on. "And I figured that we could go out to a movie afterward." _That's more like it. I could use a date with Alisa, especially since Liz is still taken. Plus, Alisa's pretty hott._ He got a good look at her before answering. _She has great posture…nice legs, too. _Her body was slender and firm; she was sitting up straight, yet relaxed and he watched as the fabric around her thigh shrunk a bit when she adjusted her foot on the gas. _Does she work out? _Alisa honked her horn at a sedan that cut in front of her, snapping Will back to reality.

"That sounds great, Alisa."

"Cool. I'll pick you up at six."

"Then I'll pay for the movie. By the way, what do you think we'll see?" She pulled up in front of Jack's house.

"Well, there's this movie out, some action-comedy. Somethin' about…the Caribbean…Crazies of the Caribbean? Yeah, I think that was it."

"Sounds good."

They knocked on Jack's door together, making a different song each time. First it was Jingle Bells, then it was We Wish You a Merry Christmas. When they had been standing outside for a couple of minutes, they decided to bring Jack to the door by singing the Twelve Days of Christmas as loud as they could. When they reached "five golden rings", Jack swung his door open to face the two laughing teenagers.

"Good gold of Cortez, I outta run me sword through the both of ye!" he shouted and then took a swig of rum. They stepped inside, ignoring Jack's comment.

"Oy, captain! I think I left my keys in here," Will said to him and began searching through the rubbish on the nearest table.

"Jack, what's taking you so long? Who's there?" The voice was female and the owner was Anamaria. She came downstairs in a silky red mini robe, her hair a bit of a mess. Will and Alisa's mouths dropped open and they looked at each other. Alisa then set a cold, hard expression on her face.

Will leaned over in Jack's ear and whispered, "I guess this means they're still fighting?" Jack nodded, afraid that another argument was about to break out.

"Well, I think I'd better be going," Alisa said, and simply walked out of the house without another word. Both men let out a breath of relief. Then Will grinned.

"So there **is** something going on between you and Anamaria!" That sexy, mischievous grin of Jack's had rubbed off quite nicely on Will. So much, that Jack's cheeks had actually gotten a slight pink tint of embarrassment. Anamaria closed her robe tighter and changed the subject.

"Will, I heard what you did last night. Great job," she said as she wrapped her arms around Jack's waist.

"Yes, lad, terrific job! Those gold statues were worth a pretty penny, but I found that they go nicely by my skeletons…"

"You dummy! I meant that he did a good job in saving Elizabeth!" Ana corrected him with a tug of his chin hairs.

"Thanks, but it was really nothing. I did what I had to do and…" Will began, but then trailed off.

"Yes, well I'm your dummy aren't I?" Jack mumbled in her ear as he ran his hands through her hair. She giggled.

"Yeah, I guess you'd be Captain Dummy?"

"How about Captain Sexy Dummy?"

Will rolled his eyes when he realized that any attempt to talk to them while they were so obviously wrapped up in each other was a waste of energy, so he continued to look for his car keys.

Alisa, meanwhile, was back on the highway dialing a number into her cell phone. After a few rings, her contact picked up and they began to speak.

"This is Barbossa," the man on the other line spoke in his thick pirate accent.

"And this is Alisa."

"Ah, my dearie. I assume you have talked to the lad?"

"Yessir."

"And he'll be meeting me tomorrow night then?"

"Yessir, around six."

"You'll be greatly awarded, bonnie."

"Thank you captain."

"But don't be late," he added.

"Aye, cap'n," she said and then hung up the phone with a satisfied smirk.

A/N: There we are, me latest part of the tale. I told you I'd make up for not having a cliffhanger last time. So, a few of you thought you couldn't stand miss Alisa before…well how do you like her now? Heh heh heh. Are you curious to know what happens next? Well, you know what to do!


	12. Guns, Blades, and Grenades

A/N: Well, my friends, this part of the tale is as clear as if it happened just last year…oh that's right, it did! But how much are you ready to know? Maybe it's too soon to give you such juicy details, so much drama, all of that suspense and action…Hmm…Yes, I think I know just what to tell you about next…

Chewy518—You'll have to read and find out what's going on!

Terradaina—It may not seem right, but you gotta love it! And I'm glad I'm keeping you interested and laughing.

Orlando's Hot Chick—Hey, don't get mad at me, I'm just telling what happened! Don't worry, things will get better for them….or will they?

Oocssuck—Welcome, reader! Wow. You must reeeeally like Jack and Ana. I'm glad that you like my version of their relationship and their separate characteristics, as well. Animal magnetism…you're hilarious. I hadn't thought of it that way, but I likey. Yes, Alisa does have her reasons. What are they? You'll just have to wait and see. Will Anamaria beat Alisa's ass? You'll just have to wait and see. Will there be a hot scene between Jack and Ana Baby? Well…you'll just have to wait and see on that too!

Chapter 12: Guns, Blades, and Grenades

The day had been long and hard, full of explanations and excuses. Will was now at home, enjoying his evening away from the office. Everything at work had been taken care of, but he still cringed every time he thought about the snickers that were directed at him, the looks that said 'poor kid'. _Diarrhea…sometimes I'd swear Norrington does this stuff on purpose! _ He sat down on his sofa and began flipping through the channels on his 36" TV. Every time a commercial came on, his mind drifted to his work assignment. Norry had briefed him on their task with the creative team; they were to help January Records create an advertising campaign for their latest addition: up and coming music sensation K.R.U.N.K. The members included young teens by the names of Kaletra, Ricky, Ula, NayNae, and Kevin and their songs were a fresh mix of punk rock and hip hop. That was the only information the team had to work with so far and, frankly, that was stressing everyone out, especially since they only had two weeks to deliver promising results. This was going to be one of Ionary's toughest jobs yet. A commercial came on for a popular department store with kids dancing in the electronics section celebrating a New Year's sale. _How about that? We could have them dance through a department store to sell their CD…_he thought to himself as he began to drift into a long awaited sleep.

_Here we go, William. I hope you're ready for the night of your life,_ Alisa thought as she stood at the door to Will's apartment. She had already knocked twice, but there was no answer. She took a survey of her surroundings. The area was dark with no people. _Good._ She rushed back to her truck and pulled out her black backpack. Taking out a thick strong rope about five yards long she chuckled. _I thought I'd be using this later, but sooner is just as good. _Looking around one last time, she threw one end over his balcony railing leaving half of the rope hanging off each side of the post. She tied both ends into a loose knot and then pulled the longest end with all her might. The end result was a tight knot at the balcony post and a long line of rope hanging down for her to climb. _Perfect._ Luckily, Miss Alisa worked out five times a week, so using her arms to pull her body up the rope and over the railing was quick and easy. She untied the rope and put it back into her bag before walking through the balcony doors which had been left slightly open.

Her heart melted just a tad at the sight of the man in front of her. _He looks so…cute._ Will's head was lulled over the arm of the couch, his dark waves messy from sleep and his mouth was open with…a bit of…drool coming out of it…_Ew!_ Alisa thought. She was about to wake him when a bit on the news distracted her.

What Alisa didn't know was that Will was currently dreaming. He was back on the ship except this time it wasn't sunny and peaceful, it was dark and violently stormy. A bunch of men were on deck running about trying to get the ship to steady itself atop the rocky waters. Will was scared as he stumbled about on deck; he was trying to find someone…suddenly he felt himself slipping on the rain-slicked wood, sliding closer and closer to ship's edge. The girl from his previous dream with the dark brown curls was running toward him and screaming something, but he couldn't hear her. In fact, the whole world went silent as he saw his sure death coming closer and closer…but then a boy a few years older than him swept him up into his strong hands just in time.

He jolted awake to find himself in adulthood and on a couch.

"Will! I was just about to wake you…are you alright? You look pale,"Alisa said to him with a look of concern. He sighed with relief, glad that the dream was over.

"No, I'm fine. Um…how'd you get in here?" He raised an eyebrow at the girl in front of him who was dressed in all black. _Is she going for the CIA agent look? Or the burglar look?_

"You left your front door unlocked," she lied. "What? Did you forget about movie night?" He smacked his forehead.

"Oh right! I'm sorry I was just so tired," he began but she interrupted.

"Oh that's alright, Will. I can handle the client by myself if you're too tired. And I'm sure **he** wouldn't mind going with me to a movie afterwards," she joked. But after emphasizing the "he" she got the reaction that she wanted.

"No way! I don't want some strange guy taking you to a movie when you could take me! Just let me change my shirt." He winked as he said this and he briskly walked to his room. _So far so good,_ Alisa thought as she watched the bedroom door shut behind him.

James Norrington was getting on her last nerve. The little afternoon date that he and Elizabeth had gone on went terribly. It was so terrible that it only lasted about 20 minutes; by the time the waiter came back to serve the food, Elizabeth was making her way through the restaurant doors. The whole time, James either complained about Will or complained about Will. It was a bunch of 'Will is not making work any easier by not showing up' and 'I do wish Will would go to **Alisa's** house when he wanted care…better yet, the hospital!' She sighed and rolled her eyes as she turned off her cell phone. This was the fifteenth time that he had called her since their bad date. _Doesn't he get it? I don't want to talk to him! _, she thought which made her think of something else: _I don't want to talk to him, but I also don't want to spend the evening alone. _

"Elizabeth, what's taking you so long?" Her father's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Dad, I'll be there in a sec!"

"Hurry, the photographer is getting impatient," he called inside the make-up room before rushing back to the set. Liz fought the urge to yell that she didn't give a damn **what** that photographer wanted; it wouldn't have been very professional of her. She was in the make up room of the OpticLook color contacts photo shoot for their new "teen" advertising approach. The lights were hot shining down on her and the place smelled like old Chinese food; the photo man's high-pitched, fruity Italian accent was getting on her nerves more than James' phone calls…she needed a break, but no one understood.

"Ah, Eleeezabeth, es about time! Time es moneeey, bambina, time es moneey!" he screeched while waving around a camera.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," she said as she set herself on the barstool that was positioned in front of a black background. He steadied the camera and she gave him a fitting facial expression, but suddenly he began to yell again.

"Ay yi yi! Are those green contacts? They are supposed to be the blue ones!" Elizabeth groaned as two assistants came rushing towards her and a third consoled the now hyperventilating photographer.

"What a drama king…" she muttered to herself as she waited for the next half hour of her life to pass by.

When she finally got home it was-surprisingly-only seven o' clock. She took a relaxing shower and then went to call Alisa, but before she dialed the number, she noticed that her dial tone had a double beep. Someone had left a message.

'Please enter your password', the automated message said. R-O-Y-A-L-E, Elizabeth punched in.

'One new message'.

"Elizabeth! I need help. Please, get Jack! I'm at the-"

'End of message. To delete, press…" The operator's voice droned on as Liz stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded.

"Will…" she whispered, clutching the phone, her knuckles and face the same pale white. In that moment it was as if the whole world had disappeared. All she could hear was his desperate voice playing in her head. And then the next moment everything was back to normal and she sprang into action. She slammed the phone down, threw on her coat, and grabbed her cell and car keys. She had closed her door behind her and was about to lock it when she realized that she forgot something. She ran back inside and sped down her basement stairs. Running to the back window, she knelt down and lifted a floor board away from the rich pine floor. Inside the space was an assortment of guns, blades, and grenades which she tossed into her gym bag. _Just in case_, she assured herself. _Just in case. _

Since she was speeding down the expressway, she got to Jack's mansion in under 30 minutes. Liz knocked on Jack's door. No answer.

"Grrr…I know you're home and I don't have time for this," she growled under her breath as she quietly used a blade to cut a circle in the glass window and reached her arm in to unlock the door. Slipping inside, she was about to call his name when she realized he was not alone. By straining her ears, Liz was able to recognize Anamaria's voice talking in a stern and worried manner. She walked upstairs and pressed her ear against the bedroom door.

"Jack Nathaniel Sparrow, listen to me!"

"Damn Davy Crockett, woman! Do you really have to use my government name like that?" Liz opened the door a teensie bit to peek through. She saw Jack take a swig of rum…then Ana snatched the bottle from his hand and sent it slamming against the far wall. Jack's tan skin almost looked pale. His eyes got wide as he rushed over to the glass shards and puddle of liquid, kneeling down and looking back and forth from the mess to Ana with a look of pure shock on his face.

"Now if you don't listen to me, that'll be every bottle of bloody rum you possess," she said menacingly.

"Alright, alright I'll listen. Just please…calm down!"

"I'm telling you, Jack, something is wrong! I tried to call Alisa and she didn't answer, I tried Elizabeth, no luck. Something is wrong with him, I can feel it," she insisted while shaking her boyfriend's shoulders.

"Alright, darling, what should we do?" Jack asked, his eyes searching her face. After all these years he knew just how to read Ana, knew just how to comfort her, but he had never seen her so worried that she was close to tears. Liz took this as her cue. Fully opening the door, she stepped inside the room. They stared at her.

"If you're talking about Will, then Anamaria's right. He is in trouble," she said quietly.

"What can you tell us, bonnie?" Jack asked as Ana hurriedly threw on some proper winter attire.

"Well, he left me a message saying that he needs help and to come get you. He was about to tell me where he was but…it cut off," she told them.

"So…how are we gonna find him, Jack?" Maria asked.

"Come on, bonnie. Can't you tell me anythin' else?" When she shook her head no at him he took her head in his hands and bent down to look her level in the eye. "Miss Swann. Please. Think hard. Do you remember any…background noise?" She closed her eyes and thought back. Her mouth was dry and her heart was beating very fast.

_Elizabeth! I need help._

"I think I hear…shouting. Men shouting," she whispered.

"Good. Uh, what are they shouting?"

_I need help Please…_

"Something like 'captain's quarters'". Anamaria and Jack shared a dark glance at that information.

"Alright, lass. Tell me more…"

_Please, get Jack!  
_"There's something else…a methodic sound…"

"What is it Liz, what is it?" Ana gently encouraged.

_Please, get Jack!_

"It's…"

_I need help._

"I think it's…"

_Elizabeth!_

"It must be water. Yes, it's water."

_I'm at the-_

"He's at the Jolly Roger," Jack confirmed in a grim tone.

"The Jolly Roger?" Elizabeth opened her eyes; Will's haunting message finally stopped playing in her head.

"Yeah, luv. The Jolly Roger," Anamaria said. "I'm afraid that he's on Barbossa's wretched ship."

A/N: And there we have it. I know it took a long time to update, but I hope this'll quench ye thirst for a bit. Please do us all a favor and review, me lovely.


	13. Vive, El Caribe!

A/N: Curses, it's been a long time! I bet you thought I'd retired, didn't ye? Well, I am very sorry for being, like, two months late. I've just been terribly busy lately, but now I'm on spring break! So if you're back here to continue reading the tale, I applaud you for your patience and loyalty….and good taste! And if you are a new reader, I welcome you with all of my heart. Viva El Caribe—live, the Caribbean dónde estámos—where are we tortugasturtles

Terradaina: You are great, you've been here from the beginning and I hope you haven't given up on me. I'm so glad you love the tale and that you're feelin it!

Orlando's Hot Chick: Hi, Keri! -lol- Yes, I know you must hate me for that cliffhanger, but it's not like I'm the one who decided what happened to the gang—history writes itself, you know!

Chewy518: -hehe- Thanks, Chewy! And maybe you'll start to like Alisa a little bit more? I have FINALLY updated! You were right about the time frame.

oocssuck: What does your penname mean? Just curious. And yes, dearie, you must wait and see on everything -hehe-. I'm very flattered that you like the tale so much, and I'm so sorry that I have made you wait -another- year for this next installment!

Viva El Caribe—live, the Caribbean; dónde estámos—where are we; tortugas are turtles.

Chapter 13: Viva, El Caribe!

"Jack, are you sure that we're doing the right thing?" Elizabeth asked as the three of them took long, confident strides through the JFK airport in New York City. Anamaria, Jack, and Liz were walking through the airport as if they owned the place, but Liz had doubts. _I thought Jack was rich…why can't we just pay for tickets? _Jack didn't hear Liz, which was a good thing, because he would've drawn unnecessary attention to the trio by ranting and raving about how he was the captain, etc, etc, etc.

"Elizabeth, honey, don't doubt him," Ana whispered as they walked. "He may be crazy sometimes, but he knows what he's doing." Liz nodded, a little comforted by Ana's confidence, but still nervous about what they were going to do. When they reached a brown door marked 'PRIVATE', they slowed down. The airport was so crowded and so busy that no one, not even security guards, were paying them any mind. Ana pulled out a credit card and smoothly slid it between the door frame next to the doorknob.

"Hey, what do you think you're doin'!" The police officer was Jack's height, plump and brown haired. He had a large coffee stain on his uniform shirt and his badge looked a bit…dull.

"Sir, I could ask you the exact same thing," Jack said, poking a finger on the man's chest and swaying a bit too close to his face. The officer cringed and backed up.

"Now, look here. If I see three civilians like yourselves trying to go into a private area, it's my job to stop you!" he said as his face got red and his chest puffed up with authoritative pride.

Jack's lips had twitched into a smirk at the 'private area' part, but he kept himself on the task at hand. "You are absolutely right, oh honorable sir. But…since I am just a lowly civilian and you are an exalted police officer, I think it is my duty to tell you if I see three young men such as those three over there, hassling an old woman for her purse." The officer looked skeptical but he turned around anyway, to see three young men who were, in fact, taunting and tugging at an old woman and her purse.

"Maurice! Get over there now!" he yelled to a security guard who was leaning against a wall, obviously daydreaming. Maurice started in surprise, yelled a 'Yes, SIR!' and quickly ran over to take care of the situation. When the officer turned back around, only Jack was there. "Heyyyy….where'd the two ladies go!" he asked while his hand moved toward his nightstick.

"Now, now, officer, I don't think you'll be needin' that just yet," Jack said and he held his hands up to put some space between them.

"If you don't tell me where your friends went, I think I will be needin' it!" The police officer was getting very worked up and his voice had raised to draw a bit of a crowd to them. Maurice rushed over.

"Sir, the situation has been taken care of, do you request my assistance in this one?" he asked eagerly. _Obviously a newbie_, thought Jack. _This is gonna be as easy as drinkin' rum. _

"Eh, Maurice, there isn't really a situation, lad. You see, my lady friends just went to go hijack a plane." There were murmurs in the crowd and the officers looked at each other in disbelief.

"Oh really? And I suppose you're here to blow the airport up while you're at it?" the officer asked with a self-assured smirk.

"Sir, I think he's telling the truth…" Maurice whispered, but everyone heard. The crowd just stared; they were being entertained for free in a city where money isn't abundant enough!

"Maurice, there is somethin' you need to learn about this job. When criminals want their way, they lie. This man wants somethin' and it's not a plane. He's lyin'. If it were the truth, he wouldn't have told us." Jack rolled his eyes and then feigned a look of shock.

"Gentlemen, I hate to interrupt, but, oh my land, I think it's a grenade!" Jack exclaimed with a pointed finger to a spot just a few feet away. While they had been talking, he had pulled one of Liz's grenades out of his pocket and gently slid across the floor. The people had seen this and started whispering to each other, but didn't really react until he explained what the sliding object was. People began to scream and scatter in all directions, some yelling 'BOMB!' others yelling 'GRENADE!'. With the crowd rushing all around him and the officer and security guard easily distracted, he pushed open the door that Maria had left unlocked and slipped through with a 'Later, mates!' and tip of his hat.

He ran up the long flight of stairs and found himself in some sort of employee lounge. It was empty and Jack looked around, confused. _Now where could they have gone?_ There was only one other door, so Jack went over to it and as he reached for the knob, he saw something peculiar. _Is that to me?_ There was tiny writing in black sharpie marker by the knob. He knelt down and squinted his eyes to read: **We're on flight 239 at terminal C- Ana Baby. **He grinned—_Yesss!_, clicked his heels in the air, and then calmly left the lounge, walked over to terminal C and boarded the plane.

Liz greeted him with a punch in the stomach. Jack frowned down at her.

"Lass, was that necessary? Really, now, tell me that."

"Yes, it was! These people are going out of their minds and Anamaria is getting tired of waving that gun around. You couldn't have gotten here faster!" she hissed at him angrily. Jack looked around; all of the passengers (there were only about 25) were sitting in their seats calmly, reading magazines or talking to each other. Liz rolled her eyes. "Not **these** people, the flight attendants! The pilot and copilot! Maria has them all in the cockpit behind those curtains," she explained. Jack nodded and began to make his way down the aisles to the cockpit. When he slipped through the blue curtains, he saw Anamaria in the pilot chair holding a shotgun at her side; she was facing the flight crew whom she had sitting down in a row against the other wall. She sighed with relief when she saw him and held the gun out for him to take.

"No, I don't need it. Give it to Liz if you want," he replied as he patted his waist. They both knew that his cutlass was hidden there, safe and sound. "Now," he began as he turned toward the attendants, "if you cooperate, there will be no killins today. My dear has disconnected all radios so don't even think about trying to communicate with anyone…she has also taken all of your weaponry, I see," he said approvingly as he saw the small pile of handguns on the floor at the other side of the room. "You!" he pointed to the man who was obviously the copilot. "Take a seat here and do your thing. We'll be headin' to a little place that I like to call latitude 5 52' north and longitude 55' 14 west," he said to the pilot. "By the way, what is your name, lad?"

The seated pilot stammered out a shaky, "My name is Vernon, sir."

"Eh, don't call me that. Call me Captain!" Vernon nodded and the plane began to take off.

A few minutes later, Jack had taken off his casual attire to don a pilot's uniform. He left the cockpit along with Liz to address the passengers; he tried hard to abandon his pirate talk, much to Liz's amusement.

"Oy-er, hello, passengers! I'll be your pilot's assistant today. My name is Captain—er, I mean Jack, just Jack and you can come to me if you have any questions," he boomed out over the talking of the adults and laughter of the children. No one paid much attention to him, but a few nodded to let him know that he was heard. As Jack was looking around at the passengers, he started at the feel of tugging on his pant leg. He looked down to see a little girl about age five looking up at him with big gray eyes.

"I have a question," she said in perfectly grown up English. The corner of his mouth turned up in tiny smile; he was pleased that someone was going to pay him mind. Kneeling down to her eye level he asked, "And what would that be, bon—er, little girl?"

"My name is Julia. And I'm **not** a little girl." She paused, her eyebrows scrunched in defiance as Jack barely held back a laugh.

"My deepest apologies, Julia. Now what was the question?" She wiggled her little pointer finger to say 'come closer' and he leaned his ear to her mouth. She cupped her hands around his ear and whispered her question.

"Are you a pirate?" She took a tiny baby step back so that she could look into his eyes again. He stared at her, not in surprise, but in confusion. Liz looked on, wondering what the girl had asked. Julia waited patiently for an answer and Jack smiled.

"Well, maybe I am! What is it to you?"

"I always wanted to meet a real pirate! I find them intercepting!" Liz giggled at the girl's mispronunciation, even though she was still confused about why she was talking about pirates. _We're all in regular clothing. Jack's accent must be obvious after all. _

"Well, me bonnie lass, yer lookin' at one! I'm a pirate pilot, if I ever knew one," he said, deliberately exaggerating his accent for Julia's benefit. Julia smiled a huge pearly grin of absolute delight and her pigtails bounced around as she hopped back to her seat.

He watched her intently as she hopped and wondered, _Is it something that I just can't hide? Well, I hope she doesn't tell anyone else._

"Hello, earth to Sparrow! I have some things to discuss with you!" Liz brought him out of his thoughts. He stood up again. "Ok. First of all, where the hell are we going!" she whispered as she pulled him further away from the passengers.

"Nothin' sayin' till we get there, Luv. Better yet, not till we leave."

"Fine. But why didn't we just buy a plane ticket! Why are you putting me through this?" He frowned deeply at her, and she felt her heart quicken in sudden fright.

"Elizabeth. How do the rich stay rich?"

"They don't spend anything."

"Close. They steal. And we're stealing this plane because we have places to be if we're going to save Turner." She nodded and decided to hold off on her other questions.

During the next few hours, the three of them traded off cockpit guard position and passenger patrol. As Jack Sparrow looked out of the window over the bright blue ocean waters, he began to get excited. _We're going to be home in a matter of hours,_ he thought to himself. America was so stuffy to him. Sure, Americans knew how to have fun, but not like Haitians! He missed home terribly, but now they were going back.

"Alright, ladies and gentleman, we are nearing our destination," he announced and this time everyone was eyes and ears. People were looking out of their windows and starting to murmur in confusion to one another. All they saw was ocean and forest.

"Hey, man, this isn't Cuba!"

"Where the hell are we!"

"¿Dónde estámos?"

"Hey, hey, hey! Everyone just calm down and no one will get hurt!" Jack was getting tired of people raising their voices to him. The people hushed up as Anamaria pulled out her gun and stepped forward menacingly. Flight 239 was rapidly approaching a nearly deserted coastal area filled with trees and sand. "Now, everyone just stay seated until I give further directions." A lady began to cry silently in the back of the plane and the kids began to grip their parents in fear; all of the kids except for Julia. She walked right up to Jack as her mother cried out in terror. _Hmm, she could come in handy,_ Sparrow thought to himself as he watched her come toward him.

"Julia, no!" the mother screamed. Jack swooped Julia up into his arms and everyone gasped in fright. The plane bumped as it touched the sand and the windows began to be splattered with the ivory granules. When the plane stopped sliding, Liz began to set up the portable exit ramp and slide everyone's belongings out of the plane. Holding Julia in his arms, Jack leaned out of the exit door. He grinned.

"Gibbs! Good to see ya! And I'm glad you brought everyone else along, too!" Gibbs waved and yelled an "Aye, Cap'n!" up to him. When all of the luggage was out, Jack's crew began to climb up a rope ladder one by one.

"Now, for all of you passengers. Do what I say and little Julia won't get hurt. Men will slid down this ramp first and then I will send down the women and children. Now go!" The men hurriedly slid down the ramp and the women and children carefully followed. Then Jack directed the pilot and stewardesses out and set Julia carefully down in front of him.

"That man called you Captain. I knew you were a pirate!" she said after pointing at Gibbs. He laughed.

"I told you so myself. Now go on down the ramp to your mommy. She's actin' like she just caught the rickets, for Crockett's sake," he said while raising an eyebrow at the woman in the sand who was now hysterically crying and shaking and wailing 'Not my baby! My baby!'. _Damn, woman, I wouldn't hurt her! She's cute as Tortugas! And smart, too._ He glanced at Anamaria with this thought, but then Julia spoke again.

"But where are we?"

"Welcome to Paramaribo, Suriname, Sudamérica," he said slowly, knowing she would tell the rest as soon as she got off of the ramp. She repeated it and nodded; before she slid down the ramp, she kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm glad I finally met a pirate!" she said with a grin. Jack gave a little nod and grunt, trying not to show more softness, afraid that he might get a tear in his eye at the emotion the girl struck in him. She finally slid down the ramp and then returned to the arms of her mother. Jack pulled the ramp and rope ladder back into the plane and shut the door. Maria walked over to him.

"Jack, is something the matter?" she asked as she placed her hand on his arm. He wouldn't look at her, he just cleared his throat.

"Nay, luv. Now take us home, Gibbs!"

"Aye, Captain, to Tortuga Island we go!"

A/N: Well, there we have it. Chapter 13. I hope you enjoyed it and again I apologize for the long wait. I have promised from the beginning that if I receive feedback, I will update. I never break a promise even if it does take me awhile to fulfill it! You know what to do.


	14. Luminosity

A/N: Hello, everybody. Thank you very much for your reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I had been waiting for an extra dose of inspiration and ideas, and here they are! Oh, yes. And I have included one of my favorite songs called "Wherever You Are (I feel Love) by Laava.

Perry: Well, my friend, that is a whole nother story. Maybe I'll tell it another day? In the meanwhile, don't be a stranger, come on back now, hear?

Terradaina: I am glad you like Julia's mom, but I don't think she'll be joinin' us in this tale again. But then again, she just might… Julia is pretty cool, in my opinion. My little sisters love to have her over to play all the time. Maybe she'll have a recurring role, even if her mother doesn't. And yes, Jack loves children. Hmm…

Orlando's Hot Chick: I remember that song! Yes, Julia is a little gem, isn't she?

Chewy518: Lost again? You're so funny. And you missed me because you're always takin' days off, girl!

Cap'n DaVinci 92: Welcome, reader. I'm glad you like this tale, and of course I'll continue it! I hope you continue to read.

occssuck ( ): Thanks for telling me what your name stands for. I'm glad you liked the silliness in the airport scene, the secret message, and the plane ride. Oh, believe me, Jackie does have weaknesses besides rum and Anababy! I didn't really include Will that much, but perhaps he will be in this piece of the tale? Keep reading!

Hiro Ichiro: Welcome, welcome. I'm glad that you're liking this piece and that it's becoming clearer to you now. Read some more when you get the chance, and tell me what you think!

Chapter 14: Luminosity

"So, Jack, we're in Tortuga. Now what?" Elizabeth was squatting down next to the Captain in the sand. The crew had set up camp on the beach, but they knew they couldn't stay for long.

"Well, luv, we do the only thing there is **to** do. We enjoy the beauty of the isle," he responded quietly as he helped her roast a huge catfish over the fire. Night had fallen and the firelight and moonlight mixed together cast a mystical glow over the scene before them. The evening waves of the ocean were gentle and the misty breezes were refreshingly cool in the heat. The men and Anamaria were eating and drinking nearby, laughing loudly at something. Behind them were rocky cliffs, tropical trees, and a small cave which Elizabeth planned to sleep in that night, that is, **if** she could sleep.

She sighed at his reply. They had been "enjoying" themselves since they had arrived. She wanted to find Will, not go on vacation. _What is father thinking right now? Alisa must be worried sick, too._ And then she thought of James. _James…he still cares for me. He must've scoured half the earth by now to find me…such a good man. Am I making the right decision, here?_

"Ouch! I burned my bloody finger again!" Jack exclaimed, which brought Liz back to the conversation at hand.

"Jack, Captain Jack, we've been here for hours already!" She was about to whine that they needed to find Will, that he was in danger. But she decided to take a different approach. "Don't you know that the cops are going to be looking for us? No, not cops- Marines, Coast Guard, Navy! Don't you think we should keep moving?" Even though she tried to appeal to Jack's criminal side, he wasn't fooled; he knew she was thinking about Will and could care less about the authorities.

"Miss Swann. I am Captain Jack Sparrow. We are not about to be apprehended. Don't worry about Will…" He was about to say "Ana and I are doing enough of that", but he thought better of it. Instead, he continued with, "Barbossa and I go way back. I know his tricks and I can sniff out his motives from an island away. The lad will be alright."

"Barbossa…yeah, I never did understand how you two were connected…" She trailed off, hoping that Jack would finally fill in a few more blanks.

"He used to be my crew member. Aye, right surprise, I know," he said when her eyes widened in shock.

"But he looks so…old."

"Yes, he's older than me, but I was the leader. I'm the one he put in charge."

"Who put you in charge?" Liz asked as she ate her meal quietly. Jack didn't answer; instead, he stared into the fire, his hazel brown eyes glowing amber in the light. When he began to speak again, the flickering flames casting warm shadows on his tanned face, it seemed as if he were in another place, in another time.

"Barbossa…he didn't like that at all. The first chance he got, he overtook me, takin' half the crew with him. Mutinous scallywag. His greed got the best of him. Got the best of the crew. All he had to do was bribe…"

"So some of your crew left with Barbossa," she whispered in comprehension. "Well, he has his traitorous crew; he has his treasures, why is he coming after us again? Jack, you said you could sniff out his motives from an island away. There must be something you're not telling the rest of us." At this comment Jack's facial expression shifted ever so slightly. _What was that look on his face? Was it…guilt? It was guilt! But why? What does he know!_

"Well, luv, this has been a lovely meal and a great heart-to-heart chat, but we must be getting to bed now," he said as he stood up and tossed his leftover fish bones into the fire. She glared at him, her lips pursed in suspicion.

"What for?" she asked.

"We've got to be up with the sun. We've got a special visitor," he said. Then with a quick tip of his pirate hat, he went over to where Ana was sitting and left Liz to her private thoughts.

The Next Morning in New York…

Norrington walked briskly to President Swann's office. He had been worried sick when Weatherby told him that Elizabeth was no where to be found. Then, he became outraged when he found the message from Will on her answering machine. _Probably what Swann wants to discuss with me right now,_ he thought to himself. His walk slowed down as he reached a large glass window. His heart seemed to stop when he faced a giant-sized billboard with Elizabeth's face staring back at him. Ever since their last date, he had been trying to get a hold of her. _I just wanted to say that we obviously should just be friends. As hard as that may be, I love her, but we're just not meant to be together. And now, she's probably going out getting herself killed over this William character. To think that I actually trusted him._ In anger, he ripped his gaze from Elizabeth's face and entered Weatherby's office.

"Mr. Norrington, take a seat, please," Swann said in a grim tone that surprised James. He sat down.

"Is there some more news on Elizabeth? Is something wrong? Is she alright?"

"Well…I actually wanted to ask you something, if that's ok with you."

"Yes, sir, of course. Anything!" Weatherby cleared his throat in a nervous manner.

"Well, James, you and my daughter went on a date to LaFlor just two days ago, correct?" he asked carefully.

"Yes, sir, we did…I admit, it didn't go too well."

"Yes, that is what I heard from my friend who helps run the café. That's why I've decided to ask you- do you know where Elizabeth could be?" James' eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"Excuse me? If I had any idea where she was, she wouldn't be missing anymore!" His face was hot and red, his temper threatening to boil over on his boss.

"Calm down. Watch yourself. I just have been thinking that if she was upset enough…" James took a deep calming breath. _Do not yell at this old fool of a man…calm down,_ he repeated in his head before he spoke.

"Sir, I assure you. I had nothing to do with Elizabeth's disappearance. And she is hardly the type to run away. That message on her machine…Sir, I'm telling you, William Turner is trouble! I think that we both know that this is his fault." Weatherby leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples in distress. Sighing deeply, he replied.

"Yes. I suppose it does make sense. She is a grown woman now and too responsible to run away. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but I'm going to call the police since it has been the required 48 hours," he concluded.

"Good decision, Mr. Swann. I'll see if I can find out where William is. In fact, I'll go talk to Alisa right now! She should-"

"Actually, she took personal leave. A death in her family she told me." Norrington nodded with understanding and walked quietly out of the office.

* * *

Jack stood over Elizabeth in the shade of the cave that she had fallen asleep in the night before. _This lass sleeps like a sunken ship. Like a set anchor._

"Bonnie," he whispered as he gave her a poke on her cheek. She barely twitched. He frowned and turned as if he was about to leave her in peace. Then, he suddenly whipped his braided head around and shouted, "BWAGA!" in her face. This time her nose wrinkled and her eyes squeezed shut a little tighter under her scrunched eyebrows. For a moment, Jack thought that Liz was trying to fight his efforts and save another hour of sleep. But then she spoke in a scratchy sleep filled voice.

"What is that smell?" Opening one eye, she started in surprise at the sight of Jack's face hovering just one inch above her own. She then closed her eyes and groaned. "Jack, haven't you heard of a toothbrush?" she asked in disgust.

"Don't need one out on the sea! Well, actually we do, but…I'm Cap'n Jack Sparrow! I brush my teeth when I wish, mommy…Now get up!" he said and he yanked a wavy strand of hair from her head to make sure she fully awoke.

"Ow, jack! You crazy son of a-"

"That's Captain Jack!" he shouted gleefully as he dashed out of the cave.

A few minutes later, Liz emerged from her cave to face a spectacular sight. The ocean, a glittering blue-green, was rocking a very large ship gently on her surface. The sun was large and golden orange, like a big glowing orb of hope in the sky. _I cannot believe this…we really are going to save William! I just cannot believe this…wow, I really must've overslept!_ The whole crew was already on board rushing about busily, and Anamaria waved her arm excitedly.

"Elizabeth! I'll help you on board!" she shouted and Liz waved an "ok" back to her. When she climbed on board, Anamaria told her all she knew…which wasn't much.

"We've had this ship for years, but we still haven't named her. And before you ask, I have no clue how we're going to find where Barbossa is. We'll just have to trust that Jack has a plan," she said as she showed Liz around the ship.

_

* * *

_

_I cannot believe this is happening. How did this happen to me?_ Will was sitting in a locked cabin room in the lowest level of the Jolly Roger. For a reason he did not know, Barbossa had locked him a nicely equipped passenger cabin instead of a dungeon-esque prisoner cell. _Alisa probably said something to him. Traitor. I cannot believe this is happening,_ he thought for the millionth time that day.

He had been in the car with Alisa on their way to meet the "client". If he hadn't still been drowsy from his nap, he might have noticed that something was wrong. Before he knew it, Barbossa was greeting him with a pistol and demands to keep calm and go with him. He wished that he'd had never met Alisa, _but then again, I wouldn't have gotten to know Elizabeth,_ he thought and sighed sadly.

A knock sounded on the door. He had been locked in for hours, and wondered what time it was. In the next moment, Alisa unlocked the door and timidly walked in. Will was laying in the rich king sized bed staring at the delicately painted patterns on the ceiling.

"Will, it's after 8 o' clock. Are you hungry?" she asked quietly, still standing a good distance away from him. He said nothing. "Will, I know you're angry, but you can't starve yourself. What good will it do?" Still no response, no acknowledgement of her presence. She walked over to the cherry wood nightstand by the bed and set down the plate and wine goblet she had been carrying. "Look! I brought you lobster, Cajun rice, cheddar wheat bread, and shrimp scanty. Oh, and some ginger ale, too," she added.

"Why. Tell me why you did it," he finally spoke, still looking at the ceiling.

"Because. It's my job."

"Why did you deceive me?"

"I didn't, I swear. Two nights ago was the only time that I ever have." Will looked up at her face. She was looking at him with such sorrow in her eyes, his heart melted for half a second. He picked up the plate and began to eat in silence. "Here, take some of this, too," she said, holding the soda out to him. He stopped eating and glared at her in astonishment.

"It's not…poisoned? Is it!" he asked, his anger and distrust flaring up again.

"No, Will, I'd never do that to you! And I prepared it all myself, didn't take my eyes off it once," she tried to assure him, but his ravaging appetite was suddenly lost. "Will, would you like to come on deck with me? Mostly everyone is passed out from rum." When he didn't object she let him follow her to the door and on the deck. The water had waves that weren't rough, but were still rustling with an excited energy. It was a deep dark purple blue outside, the only light being the white glow of a near-full moon and its surrounding stars. There was a strong, cool wind that blew Will's hair and clothes around him…it felt good to be outside again. They both were leaning against the railway in silence. _I'm so confused. All I know is that Alisa has betrayed me,_ he thought. _I cannot believe that I've had to do this. I hope my sister will finally be proud of me,_ Alisa thought and then suddenly, she spoke.

"Will, what are you thinking of?" He frowned, wondering if he should tell the truth. He decided that, after a moment of thought, he might as well.

"Elizabeth."

"Aha. My mother always did say, 'the moonlight shows us for what we really are'. And you are, Elizabeth's," she answered. He snorted in sarcasm.

"That really does me a miracle." He turned away from her and she gave a little shrug with a knowing smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. There was silence for a couple of minutes, and then Alisa began to sing quietly, her voice so clear and crisp, it seemed to carry itself on the wind across the entire sky and sea.

"**When I feel blue, I think of you, because you're true. Wherever you are, near or far, you still are my shining star…**" _What a beautiful voice. Too bad beauty isn't everything._

"**Sometimes it's mad, things get bad, and I'm sad. Wherever you are, there is light by my side- I feel all right…**"

As much as he wanted to hate her, as much as he wanted to block out her voice, her song was hypnotizing. He began to float into a dazed spiral of memories.

He and Elizabeth ravaging through Barbossa's mansion…

"**Because our love is big**,"

Elizabeth bandaging his leg wound in front of the fire…

"**bigger than the two of us**."

Laughing and talking at the Barnaby Pub and Grill…

"**And words cannot describe**,"

He and Liz leaning in for a kiss on his sofa.

"**how I miss you, so much**."

----Meanwhile on Jack's Ship----

Liz was also on board underneath a night sky. She, too, had been thinking of William and, to keep her tears at bay, began singing a song she knew.

"**I feel love in your arms, and I feel love when I'm with you…**"

In her memories, she was facing a shower-wet Will in his doorway.

"**I feel love in your eyes, wherever you may be…**"

Admiring his handsome face in the Ionary elevator.

"**You make me high, I can fly, touch the sky. Wherever you are, I feel free in ecstasy, just you and me**."

Pounding on his back in protest as he ran her up Barbossa's stairs.

"**You save my day, pave the way, and you'll stay…wherever you are, in my heart from the start, we'll never part**."

She and Will holding hands as the laid together in her bed.

Anamaria appeared by her side.

"I remember when I taught you and Alisa that song. I haven't heard it in years," she said as the wind blew her dark curls around her shoulders. Liz stopped singing and nodded.

"I remember that, too. Anamaria?"

"Yes?"

"Is there something that Jack isn't telling us?" Anamaria looked away, suddenly very interested in the shaped of the moon.

"Well," she finally said, "there is something he's not telling you-"

"Just me? So you know what it is?"

"-but when the time comes, you'll find out," she finished, and the ship continued to rock gently in the dark waters that were filled with the uncertainty of what was to come.

A/N: There we have it, mates. I know it was a bit long, but I just had to get it all in there. Thank you all very much for continuing to read and review, and there is plenty of adventure (and romance) to come in the following chapters. Now, tell us what ye thinks of this chappie, Poppet!


	15. Cave of Wonders

A/N: You all waited long enough so I can only hope this begins to satisfy. Forgive me! A refresher- Will has been kidnapped by Alisa, who is working for Barbossa. Liz, Ana, and Jack have taken a ship and are on their way to rescue him. Norrington has no idea where they are, but Liz's dad is alerting the authorities.

Orlando's Hot Chick: You don't have to apologize for taking a while to read my chapters…I have to apologize for taking so long to update! I hope you meant it when you said you can't wait for more, because here it finally is.

Hiro Ichiro: Wow. That is a lot of reviews in such a short time span. Thank you so much for reading my story and giving such great reviews. You had some great questions and here are the answers: No, Anamaria and Alisa are sisters; Elizabeth is just an old friend. In the airport, Jack just dropped the grenade to scare them, he didn't set it off! He'd never kill innocent people like that… I'm glad that you like the story so much and I hope you continue reading.

Williz: Yay! You like my story and think I'm cool! Yay, you're watching for this really, really late update! I'll catch up on reading your story as soon as I can, don't worry.

Chewy518: Thank you for your attempt at being constructively critical, but you may want to do your research next time. In the state of New York (and in most states across the U.S.) it is standard police procedure to not classify someone as missing until it has been 48 hours since anyone has last seen them. If you have any more questions, you may ask!

Terradaina: Great, you liked the chapter! I know it was a little sad, them being separated and all, but that's only for the time being. I gotta laugh out loud on that one—Barbossa is NOT Alisa's father! That's yucky………but good guess! I love it when people are clever enough to take a guess or two. Please keep reading, you've been here from the beginning, don't give up now!

Rach: Welcome, welcome! I have updated, even though it wasn't "soon", so I hope you still think this is a really good story.

Oocssuck: Wowzahs, that is a looong review. I love it. Yayyyy, I'm glad you liked the description of the beach scene; I try really hard to put good descriptions in my stories, because I feel it's important to be able to "see" what's going on most of the time. Heh, heh—you say we need to find Norry a good lass? I've had that in mind all along ;). Aw, don't worry; I'm sure Jack was just kiddin' about the whole toothbrush thing! At least, I think he was...Now, I know the whole Ana-Alisa being proud thing was confusing, but she said it for a reason. Give it time, just give it time. Alas, no Jack or Ana in this chapter, but I swear you'll have a nice surprise soon enough! Yes, Anamaria just gets hotheaded; she and Liz are back on good terms. Thank you so much for the confidence, it means a lot to me. Enjoy.

Chapter 15: Cave of Wonders

When Alisa came into his ship cabin the next morning, Will immediately noticed upon waking that the Jolly Roger was no longer sailing.

"We're here, Will," she informed him. Her eyes looked slightly saddened but the look on her face was mostly…anxious, excited. This scared Will and he began to think the worst would soon happen to him. Without a word, he stood up out of bed and followed her on deck. To his surprise, they were not anchored at a dock, but just outside of a dark cave at the bottom of many cliffs. It was hot and humid outside with plenty of tropical trees above him heavily populating the cliff tops; the sun was beating down on him from every angle, the only relief from the heat being the breezes of the ocean waves. _Where the hell are we?_ he wondered as he moved his eyes to survey his surroundings.

"Welcome to Tortuga, William Turner." As if his mind had been read, the answer to his question came from Barbossa, who had walked up behind him and Alisa undetected. The only response Barbossa received was a hard, yet blank stare from Will and an enthusiastic 'Aye!' from Alisa.

"It's beautiful isn't it? I think you'll like it here, Will," she continued on, all the sadness gone from her eyes.

"Seeing as how I'm being held captive…" he began to retort, but the captain cut him off.

"Enough with the smart aleckin', lad. Alisa, I'll take him from here. Just get the crew ready to foller us."

"Yes, sir."

Barbossa led Will on land and they began to walk toward the cave. William could've easily gotten away since he wasn't bound, but where would he go? He didn't even have his cell anymore- Alisa took that when she caught him leaving Liz a message. _They have to be on their way_, he thought. _I can't wait for Liz to know the truth about Alisa. And ooooo, Anamaria is really gonna beat her ass now! _He was about to chuckle but Barbossa's voice made his stomach churn, bringing his upper lip to rise in disgust.

"So I wonder what 'ol Jack has been telling you about me. I'm probably not as bad as he lets on." Will didn't feel up for engaging in small talk.

"What I wonder is why you felt the need to kidnap Elizabeth. And me." Barbossa smiled a slightly sinister smile.

"Ah yes. You and your entrance caused quite a stir at my white party. I had heard of your combat skills, your bravery, your eagerness to save people, but I had not witnessed it myself. Impressive."

William knew what he was implying, suggesting, plotting his head, and he would not be a part of it.

"I'm not like you. I'll never betray Jack." This brought a scowl to Barbossa's lips and he roughly pushed Will along into the cave.

"This way, ya scallywag," he growled and as they began to walk, he lit a candle for more light. Pleased that he had irritated Barbossa, Will walked along, ignoring the man's name-calling. Around him, the cave walls glistened blue-black from the humid moisture in the air and beneath his feet were small puddles of water and rocks along with leaves, branches, and sand. After walking for awhile, the captain spoke.

"They'll soon catch up wit us. But till then, hold this," he said and handed Will the light. As he reached to grab it, the glowing flame made his ring sparkle. Barbossa stared.

"Ahh…still have that ring, do ya?"

"What do you mean?" Will asked. "I've only had it all my life." He mocked the man's obvious stupidity with a roll of his chocolate eyes.

"You don't know what that is…do ya?"

Will was about to say 'A RING…" but the man spoke too soon. Pointing to the ring he began to explain. "This is Aztec gold. Yer father was the lucky one to steal it one night. As you know, he had it engraved with that message." _Quarter your life_, Will thought to himself as he twisted it around subconsciously. Barbossa continued. "He wore it everyday and bragged that one day, his son would wear it, too."

Suddenly, Will froze on the spot and felt his blood run cold. He stopped walking and slowly tuned to face the Jolly Roger captain with suspicious eyes.

"Hold up. What did you say about my father?"

"He **stole** that ring."

"How **dare** you accuse my father like that. You didn't even know him!"

As Will stared him down with a blazingly angry glare, Barbossa stared right back at him with a cool, collected gaze. _Why isn't he reacting! What is his fucking PROBLEM!_ Then it hit him. That cool collected gaze was a gaze of truth. Honest to God truth. When the look of realization on Will's face melted into shock, Barbossa struck again.

"So, Jack didn't tell you? He knew your father, too. Captain Bootstrap Bill. Captain William Turner."

"It can't be true…" Will sunk down to the cave floor grabbing his curly hair in his hands. His life seemed to flash before his eyes with every movie-like scene underlined by the feeling of being lied to. _How could she lie to me? My own mother! Jack- how could Jack lie to me?_

"Yes, your father was a bloody brilliant pirate. He led us through the seven seas, country to country with pirating ease. Pirates we were, and our crew was known all over the world. In fact, we were on that TV show America's Most Wanted once!" At this he found it appropriate to laugh heartily and smack his thigh. Will looked up at him in amazement. _Is this guy insane? Am I insane! What am I doing?_ Suddenly, as if he read Will's mind, he stopped laughing and yanked Will up to his feet.

"Face it, boy. It's been in yer blood, written in yer destiny all along. Being a Pirate is something you can't escape."

"I know," Will said aloud. "I know," he tried to convince himself. Taking a deep breath he resolved to try and get himself out of the situation as smoothly as possible. "Just tell me everything." As they walked deeper and deeper through the dark cave, Barbossa began to talk his lonely heart out.

"The Deft was a beautiful ship, yer father owned. I lived on the coast of eastern New York in my early 20's. College dropout, rebellin' against my parents. Being in yer father's crew- his gang- well…it was very appealin' to me. Anyway, when I came on board, yer ma and pa had just had you." Will raised an eyebrow at this piece of info. "Don't worry lad. I didn't change any of **your** diapers." Will shrugged his shoulders and continued walking. "Everything was going splendid; I was traveling the world, having adventures, stealing riches, attracting women with these stolen riches…" _Were those women blind?_ "And then he had to pick up that li'l demon rascal, Jack. Jack… DAMN YOU JACK!" he bellowed with fiery crazed eyes and clenched fists. Will stared at him wide eyed and then jumped, startled when a small monkey scurried past him toward the psychotic man.

Barbossa took a deep, relaxing breath as he bent to let the monkey crawl up his arm onto his shoulder. As he gently petted the animal, he said, "Not you, Jack." Will stared. "Ya, I named the monkey Jack. And since he's here, that means the rest of the crew is catchin' up wit us."

"Yeah, ok, but what about Jack? The human. What were you saying about him?"

"No time. Look. We're here."

Will stopped interrogating Barbossa and looked around. The cave had opened up into a huge underground chamber that was somehow filled with a white light, bright enough that he could blow out the candle but still dim enough to show that the sunlight's entrance was a mile above his head. There was a moat of water two feet deep around a high platform of black stone and there was no type of plant life in the area, Will noticed.

"Wow, Will. Will you look at that? This is all the treasure you could ever want." Alisa and the rest had caught up and she spoke to him over his shoulder. He wanted to turn and glare at her, but he, too, was still fascinated with the cave. _This cave of wonders…_he thought to himself. All around the cave walls, in the water, and on the platform were objects of gold, precious stones, and sliver. Treasure chests and ancient, valuable statues littered the place heavily and tons of gold coins, bars, and tokens along with pearls, diamonds and other jewels were resting on the cave floor underwater. _Maybe that's why such a small amount of sunlight seems like more…all of this shiny stuff and water is magnifying the light by making it reflect off of everything,_ William mused as he, almost in a trance, kneeled down and reached his hand underwater in an attempt to let a handful of coins play through his fingers. Suddenly, Alisa grabbed his wrist.

"Don't. Touch. Anything!" she hissed and the look of fear in her eyes made him wonder: If she's so cool with the captain, why's she concerned about me? He yanked himself free from her surprisingly muscled grip.

"Ok, I got it. Chill out. And don't. Touch. Me," he retorted, giving her the glare he owed her from her previous remark.

"Alright crew. You know what to do," Barbossa cut into their quiet side conversation. Everyone began talking and milling about, including Alisa. Will, on the other hand, didn't have a clue as to what was happening.

"Alisa, wait up!" he called after her. She didn't stop her effort to drag a large chest across the cave floor, so Will helped her as they talked.

"What is it, Will?"

"Well…Barbossa told me about my father. But he didn't finish telling me about Jack."

"Yes, Anamaria has told me all about your father and how brave and clever he was--how kindly he treated her and Jack."

"She knew my father, too?" Will was getting very upset that everyone seemed to know his dad except for him. _It's not fair…_

"Oh yes!" She blew a few curled bangs out of her eyes and gave another tug at the chest. "He saved Jack and Anamaria when they were younger than us! He was in Tortuga on vacation, partying away. If I remember correctly, he was celebrating the christening of his brand new ship, The Deft. Anyway, my sister and Jack were playing together in the street like all the kids did. I was in my mother's arms as she watched from in front of our house. The area was filled with party goers and music was playing from every direction. Great smells of food were in the air…of course I'm just going by what Mia says because I was just a baby…"

Will was listening attentively as he helped her by pushing the chest through the water while she pulled.

"So how'd he save them?" He pressed her for more information.

"A gunfight broke out between two groups of men. As you can imagine, all hell broke loose and "dancing in the streets" was over. The kids were runnin' and screamin', the adults dropped everything…well, mamá couldn't just drop me…A few of the men were on horses and as Ana and Jack tried to run towards our house, a horse was running toward them. The end result would've been more tragic than a car accident if your dad hadn't _swept_ them up in his arms and _dashed_ them to safety." With this last sentence, Alisa stopped working and her face and hand motions became extra animated, along with her voice. Her eyes danced with energy and William could tell—she loved to tell a good story. He had stopped pushing and was now sitting on the treasure next to Alisa.

"Wow," he breathed. "That's amazing."

"Yeah, definitely. So after Captain Turner- hope you don't mind me calling him that-" Will felt his throat tighten and his eyes become a teensy bit uncomfortable, but he shook his head 'no'. "Good," she continued. "So after Cap'n Turner rushed them over to us, to safety, my mother was so grateful she invited him in and they got to talking…He always made a point to come and visit from that day on, because we all loved him, him and his crew. Mom didn't care that he was a Pirate. Any man who saved her loved ones was a good man to her. After a few years of getting to know him, my mom decided that it would be alright for Ana to go on visits with them and Jack during the summer. He was like an uncle to them."

"That's amazing. I'm so glad. Um, your mom said Anamaria was old enough to visit "Uncle", what did Jack's mom say?" Will was almost afraid to ask because he felt that he already knew the answer, but he just had to know. Her shoulders slumped and her full lips pouted slightly.

"Jack's always been an orphan." Will nodded. _I just couldn't imagine him with parents. He's so independent, strong, and self-sufficient anyways. Like he was born that way._

"I think he was born independent anyway," she stated simply with a shrug and bittersweet smile.

"And I was just thinking the same thing," Will smiled back for the first time since she'd betrayed him. As Will looked at the girl he once called his friend, the one who drew him in with her charm and beauty, he felt lonesome and wished things could be the way they were before. _But they can't_.

"Look, Alisa, I still don't trust you, but I just wanna say—it's too bad things had to end up this way," he said looking her straight in the eyes.

_Oh, Will, if only you knew…_For a few moments, which felt like full minutes to them, it was like a battle, chocolate brown eyes vs. dark brown, as if they were both trying to bore into each other's brains and read the thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," she finallyadmitted and then their attentions were ripped from each other.

"Look, Cap'n!" A man who Will had heard called Swokes while on the Jolly Roget pointed upward. A colorful parrot was gliding 20 feet above their heads, a silently blaring alarm.

"We've got company!" Alisa exclaimed with lit up facial features and, as it appeared to Will, a **dangerously** excited clapping of her hands.

A/N: Again- I am sooo sorry for taking THREE MONTHS to update. I feel ashamed about that, but I really am bad at forcing out creativity. If anyone is still interested in this story, I will be grateful for your review and as always, I promise to update till the end if I get one.


	16. Chamber of Secrets

A/N: Wow! I'm updating, like, two weeks later! Hoorah! Ahem. I think you guys will like this chapter, ESPECIALLY Jack and Ana fans, hint hint. This is not a filler, but it is just the beginning of more secrets to be revealed, questions to be answered. And I've decided to put review replies at the end so you can get straight on to the tale!

Chapter 16: Chamber of Secrets

"Oh, shit. The Navy." That is what Jack had said as they, sailing along on Tortuga's waters, noticed two large ships 100 yards behind them with big, billowing flags amongst the sails. One was that of the USA; Elizabeth had spun around with glee to see for herself.

"My father has found us! Help is here, Jack!" she exclaimed.

"Help? Girl, have ya gone mad! They'll throw me in jail in a heartbeat! I know this may come as a surprise to ya, but my profession is not a favorite of the U.S. justice system," he had explained with a wide-eyed innocent look, gently shaking Liz by the shoulders.

"Captain, we'll be fine. Look, we're practically there," Anamaria reminded him. Twenty yards ahead was an expansion of cliffs and trees, and amongst the beautiful nature was a dark, black cave opening.

"FULL SPEED AHEAD!" he had bellowed out, shocking Elizabeth whose shoulders he still grasped.

* * *

Miss Swann had guessed incorrectly. James Norrington was the one who arranged for the Navy ships to come to Liz's-and Will's- rescue. He had run, bursting into Weatherby's office two mornings after their conversation with marvelous news.

"My friend, General Waze of the U.S. Navy, has agreed to help us go after your daughter!" he panted out, leaning on the lengthy table for support. Mr. Swann was bewildered.

"Well, that's amazing, James! But where will we know to begin looking?"

"No time, Sir. Just, please, come with me," he had replied and that had been the end of that conversation.

* * *

Now, at the present moment in time, Will was in the treasure chamber with Alisa and Barbossa; Norrington and Swann were sailing closer in the Navy ship; and Jack and Anamaria were walking slowly, but surely, through the cave with Liz and the crew a ways ahead, making their way toward William.

"Jackie…what's going to happen?" Anamaria asked him quietly as they walked side by side, but two feet away from each other. Maria was holding a lit torch to guide them and a small sword in her other hand. Jack just carried his sword. Looking at her with a sideways glance, he replied with,

"What do ya mean, luv?" She took a deep breath.

"Well, with Liz. When she finds out about her father and Barbossa."

"Ah. Well, I'm not quite-" he began, but she apparently wasn't through with questioning.

"And with the battle. I know we're going to have to fight his crew to get Will back.

"Well, yeah, that probably is true but-"

"What will happen with us?" They both stopped walking and Jack turned to her. He wanted to speak but wondered if she was actually going to shut up and let him do it. Silence. _Ok, here goes_.

"Uh, why are you worryin' bout that, luv?" She finally turned to face him; in the firelight, which she held level to her ear, he looked at her face, intently searching. With her brown eyes opened wide and watery, her bottom lip held captive between her pinching teeth and slightly trembling, he grew more worried with every passing second that she didn't speak.

"Because, Jack, I've been feeling lately that we haven't been as close." Her voice came out in a cracked, barely audible whisper. He stepped forward and slipped a hand around her waist to pull her close to him. He whispered in her ear, relieved that that was all she was worried about.

"Hey, hey, don't worry now. It's just because of all the dangerous stuff that's been happenin' lately. And, don't forget," he said in a lighthearted fashion, leaning back to look in her eyes, "the lad we only helped raise and protect has been kidnapped by our enemy."

When she didn't relax her features or even roll her eyes at him, he realized, _That wasn't it…she's lying to me!_

_He knows I'm lying…_She tried to hide her face and hurry ahead, but he grabbed her and whipped her around to face him. During the violent 180 she did, the torch flew from her hand and sizzled out in the water on the cave floor in a small cloud of smoke. They were left in the dark. _If only I could see her face_, he thought as he gripped his girlfriend all too tightly in frustration and fear.

"Anamaria," he said in a strong, clear, quiet voice. "What is it that you're worried about? And what does it have to do with us?" If the fire had not been extinguished, he would have been able to see that she was in the process of drawing blood from her bottom lip, or at least terribly bruising it.

"I'm expecting," she finally whispered. _I wish I could see his face_, she thought, peering determinedly through the pitch black tension.

"Expectin' wha, now?" he asked in confusion. Letting out the breath she had been holding, she almost giggled at her boyfriend's child-like confusion, but just shook her head in the dark and tried again.

"No, Jack! I'm **pregnant**," she whispered again, not wanting to be overheard.

"You're PREGNANT!" he shouted and Ana clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Yes, I am. Have been for a few weeks now." If she hadn't had her hand clamped over Jack's mouth, he would have grinned with glee.

"Arg!" A shout was called out not too far from where they stood and Jack was snapped out of his happy moment.

"They're fighting…" Anamaria murmured looking away from Jack in the dark.

"Come on, luv," he told her and began to jog toward the treasure chamber. They ran for about 20 seconds before he came to a sudden halt and turned around.

"On second thought, stay here."

"But Jack!"

"No, buts! Watch out for the Navy people," he said and kissed her firmly on the lips before she could say anything else.

When he reached the chamber filled with treasure and radiating dim white sunlight, he saw Liz taking charge. Directly in front of him, his crew stood in a mass staring across at Barbossa, his crew, and Will; Barbossa had promptly bound him to the stone platform at sight of Cotton's parrot flying through the air. Liz stood in front of the Pirates with her fists balled tight and her face angered. Barbossa was getting angry, too, his usual cool, sinister manner cracking. _This girl…who does she think she is!_ He wondered in sarcastic amazement. Elizabeth was so ready to fight, she could barely contain herself. For some reason, when she saw Will tied up on the platform looking at her with strong pride and confidence in his eyes, she knew that her feelings for James were…not really there anymore.

"Look, man, we're not leaving until we get Will back!" she yelled and was greeted with a hearty,

"Aye!" from the crew behind her.

"You don't know who you're dealing with and we'll fight all night if we have to!"

"Aye!" They shouted while Barbossa's replied with,

"Arrgg!" Even Jack had had to join in with his crew's 'Aye!' that time. _Ha ha! This little lady really knows how to rile people up_, he thought in amusement.

"Keep your treasure if you want to, but you're not keeping him, like it or not!" she said passionately. Jack was about to join in with the crew in saying another 'aye', but then he realized what she just said. _Keep the treasure? This girl has gone mad_. He grimaced and then ran up to her, pushing his way through the men.

"Ah, that's a nice proposal, but we won't be doing that, luv," he told her quietly. Barbossa snickered.

"Therrre you are, Jackie. Was wonderin' when you'd show up."

"Right, ya mutinous scallywag. Now hand over the Turner lad and I'll make things a lot easier for ya," he replied.

"Hmm…wonder where yer lil' lass is?"

"I'm right here," Anamaria announced as she walked up to Jack's side and told him something in his ear.

"Aww, how precious. The wifey has come to help her little hubby," he drawled out mockingly and his crew burst out in laughter.

"Oh, shut the fuck up, old man!" Maria started up waving her hand in a ghetto, threatening way as she strode toward him. Liz and Jack grabbed her and she quieted down after a few more words. _Damn…Alisa's sister is awfully fiery_. Will grinned at the thought behind his mouth gag.

Suddenly, Alisa stepped out from behind Swokes and another man to Barbossa's side.

"Captain, I get the feelin' that's not all of them," she whispered to him.

"ALISA!" Liz and Anamaria said at the same time.

"Alisa, what's going on here!" Liz asked, but she was ignored. Alisa was staring blankly at her sister; Maria was marching straight toward her, glaring. When they were facing each other, about a foot apart, the cave went silent and everyone just watched. _I'm sorry,_ Alisa thought, but she refused to show it on her face.

_Damn her, _thought Anamaria. And without warning, Anamaria smashed the back of her hand across her little sister's face, slapping her as hard as she could. Alisa stumbled; losing her balance, she fell. Liz instinctively ran to try and help her, in the process, kicking up water and jewels in everyone's faces.

"Get yer hands off of her!" one of Barbossa's female pirates yelled and made a stab at Liz with her sword. Liz gasped and everyone was silent once again. The blade had left a gaping hole in her shirt and little drops of blood began to form.

"You…BITCH!" Elizabeth yelled in rage and punched her in the face. Thus, the battle officially began.

_Wow, what a right hook! Get her Liz! Get her!_ Will winced. _Ohh, that musta hurt._ He was bored to death up there by himself, tied up and not even able to talk, so he amused himself by watching everyone else fight.

"What the hell is your problem, child? Didn't I teach you better- didn't mamá teach you better- than to be a traitor?" Anamaria yelled over the noise as she clanged and clashed swords with her sister.

"Of course! But maybe if you weren't spending all of your time being a precious **Pirate** with your precious **Pirate boyfriend**, you woulda been able to teach me a little better!" she shouted back.

**_Swish, swish-clang!_**

"Well, that's all right I guess, because I'm here to teach you now!"

**_Swish, swish---slice._**

Anamaria cut a long slit across Alisa's collarbone and watched the blood leak out with smug satisfaction.

_Oh, I do NOT get paid enough_, thought Alisa. She grit her teeth, let out a savage growl and went back at it.

"Barbossa, you mangy mutt! Yer not as sneaky as you think, ya know," Jack said calmly to him. They were sword fighting across the cave, tuning everyone else out.

"Oh really? How much ya think ya know, lad?"

"You've gotten Weatherby into a big mess. Blackmail's a bitch, but you never see the blackmail-ee goin' to the slammer."

"Arrgg!" Barbossa used all the strength of one hand to push his sword against Jack's and grabbed his knee with the other. Jack had stabbed it and it was now throbbing out warm blood, quite painfully. Jack grinned.

"You gettin' tired, old man?" he asked. _These kids get worse every year_, Barbossa thought with a frown, but he wasn't about to give up—they kept fighting.

Meanwhile, Liz was fist fighting a man who wasn't much bigger than she was. She had a small pistol resting at her side, but she was trying to refrain from opening fire. _The fights are clean right now. And hopefully my father and the navy are on their way_. The man suddenly grabbed her wrist to block a punch from her. She put her hand over his and twisted around behind him to take control of his arm; when she had his palm face up by his neck, she pushed up on his elbow, hard, and Will looked on in shock as his arm snapped out of place at his shoulder bone.

"Alisa taught me that. We used to play fight, even though she's been taking martial arts for years," Liz said as she was finally able to run up and untie Will.

"Impressive," he said as he took a few moments to shake off his rope burns and stiff muscles. "But, Alisa is the one who kidnapped me. And they all knew my father."

For sixty seconds, Will got lost in Elizabeth's eyes as he talked. The sounds of combat were tuned out of their ears.

"You know what, Jack? You're not as sneaky as you think, either. All this time, you've been fighting me and you've successfully gotten your crew distracting mine." They kept dashing about with their swords, now sweating profusely. "But I've been watching Miss Swann work her way over to Will and I see that he's now untied."

"WILLIAM, LOOK OUT!" Jack bellowed. But it was too late. Barbossa had pulled out a pistol of his own and he shot at Will with perfect aim…but it was Liz who crumpled to the floor of the stone platform, clutching her side.

_She took the bullet for him..._ Norrington thought in amazement from where he, the armed officers, and Liz's father watched, hidden.

"Ok men, advance now!" hissed an officer who was apparently the head honcho. They all ran out from behind the boulders and out of the shadows in a well-practiced formation until they surrounded both crews. The fighting came to an instant halt; Norrington ran up to Will and Liz while Weatherby just stood frozen from the shock of seeing his only daughter shot.

"That's right, everybody freeze. The game's up Barbie." The second comment was thrown at Barbossa, who had his hands held behind his back by two officers. Alisa had announced this as one of the policemen tossed her a black leather billfold which she flipped open high above her head for all to see. The light that reflected off of the jewels and coins and water, also reflected off the gold metal of her FBI badge.

A/N: So, there it is, mates. Don't you wonder "what's gonna happen" next? With Jack and Ana's baby? With Liz being shot up for Will? With Barbossa blackmailing Liz's father? And Alisa being and FBI agent undercover? (Wow, I think it just hit me how twisted up this story is.) Talk ter me and I'll talk ter ya ri' back, luv.

TO ALL OF YOU: THANK YOU!

Oocssuck: THERE'S some Jack and Ana for you! And there will be more in the next chapter, don't worry. Good job on figuring a bit of Alisa out. I'm glad you liked the comedy; I was inspired by Aladdin for the description of the cave (it's another favorite Disney movie of mine). And I love chocolate, so if you wanna give me some, that would be a great idea!

Williz: I like that promise a lot. And I'm glad you liked the chapter so much. Well, hopefully now you can understand Alisa's actions a little better, hm? Oh, thank you, but I didn't come up with the stories, they told me themselves what happened. I can't rewrite history, I'm not that good! ;)

Terradaina: Thank you for your vote of confidence—you were right, people are still interested! You have a sense of humor, like me, and I'm glad for that. Yes, Will was a sweetie in the movie, but that was the olden days, honey. Haven't you noticed how these days guys are not as chivalrous and such as they used to be? The guys who used to exist seem like a fairy tale. Aw, don't worry about Alisa...Liz has got her man on LOCK.

Chewy518: Thanks for reviewing! Good luck on your stories.

OrlandosHotChick: You love it, good good good. Here was the more you wanted and the next chapter will hopefully be even better for you.


	17. See, What Had Happened Was

A/N: This is the end…prepare yourselves! Just kidding. Enjoy it, lovelies. Oh, by the way, the song is called "Simple And Clean" and it's by Utada Hikaru.

Chapter 17: See, What Had Happened Was…

"Why didn't you just tell me before?"

"I couldn't risk my cover being blown."

Anamaria was driving the baby pink Cadillac to the hospital three afternoons later. With all of the police questionings, helping Jack transport the ship and the treasure, getting Liz into the hospital, etc…this was the first time the sisters received an opportunity to be alone and talk.

"I would never blow your cover!" They stopped at a red light and Ana suddenly turned to look at her. "Hey, how long have you been in the FBI anyway?"

"Eh, this was my first real case. If it wasn't for Liz's father, I'd still be in that office doin' paperwork," Alisa replied.

"I thought that Liz did you a favor by asking her dad to give you a job at Ionary."

"Yeah, that's what she thought, too. But I already knew he'd say yes when I asked Liz for the favor. Mr. Swann had already asked for my help in convicting Barbossa and thought it'd be good if I was close by during the day; it would've been too obvious that something was up if he asked me to work there himself."

"Well I guess that makes sense," Ana replied as she turned the car into the hospital parking lot.

When the two young women reached the St. Joseph waiting room they were arm in arm with a uniform bounce in their steps. _Just like sisters again_, Jack thought, for he had already been in the waiting room, well, waiting for them.

"So, honey, who else is here?" Maria asked him with a sweet kiss on the cheek in greeting.

"Well, ol' Norry is with Liz as we speak. I guess the needed a li'l bit of alone time." And indeed, that was the case. James was kneeling by her bedside in blue jeans and a black sweatshirt with black house shoes to match—definitely not his usual business-like attire. Liz was propped up by two large white pillows gazing out of a nearby window. Winter was still a couple of months shy of New York, but a few birds had decided to come back. He took her hand and gently brought her attention back to him.

"So, you do understand, Elizabeth? Why we cannot be together?"

"Yes I do, don't worry! I realized that I didn't love you anymore that day in the cave," she assured him and, surprisingly, his heart didn't even stitch at the words said aloud.

"You love William then?"

Truly, she didn't know if it was really love or not, but she decided it may be better to just give it a shot.

"Yeah. I do love him," she said in what she hoped was a confident voice. James bought it with a grin and squeezed her hand.

"Well then, we're even I guess!" he announced as he stood up from his knee and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Hm? How? What do ya mean?"

"I think your pretty friend Alisa has the hotts for me," he winked and she giggled at his silly imitation of a girl swooning.

"What in the hell?" Jack stood in the doorway with an incredulous expression on his face. Norrington cleared his throat in an embarrassed fashion, and began to bid them farewell, when Jack interrupted.

"Nah, mate, don't go. Alisa's here and wants to talk to you," he said. As Norry left the room with Jack, he and Liz shared a secret smile that held understanding and a promise to still be friends. When they closed the door behind them, Liz produced a small music box of Japanese design from under her big hospital pillow. She opened it up to listen to the tune of a Japanese dance song that it played.

**When you walk away you don't hear me say: **

**Please, oh baby, don't go!**

**Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight… **

**It's hard to let it go. **

She sighed, closed it again and put it back under her pillow.

---------------------------------------------------------

"Hi, James! Come take a walk with me?" Alisa asked when Jack brought him to the waiting room. She held her hand out to him in her signature friendly fashion and they began to walk, hands clasped, in slow, lazy strides.

"Well, I just want to thank you for your help. I'm glad Will pulled out his cell on the ship to leave Liz a message…I totally forgot mine at home! Thanks for trusting me when I called you," she finished. They were in the hall now, next to the exit door.

"I'm glad you called me," he said. They stood there for a minute sort of shifting their weight from the balls of their feet to the heels; they both seemed to be waiting for something. Just as Alisa opened her mouth to break the silence (and possibly bid him farewell) he spoke as if the words had been bursting to get out of him.

"Would you like to take a walk outside?" She almost smirked at the flustered tone of his voice, but she was too relieved and happily surprised. She simply nodded with a smile and he smiled back (_wow, his smile is more stunning than Will's!_) as he led her out the double doors. When they stepped out into the sunshine, they were so blinded by its rays that they literally bumped into Will.

"Hey, you two! What's going on?" he asked them jovially. In his hands he held carefully a bouquet of lavender and honeysuckle flowers. Will had dressed nicely in dark green slacks, black business shoes, and a black collared dress shirt. Surprisingly, he went tie-less and had his top shirt buttons lazily undone, his coat draped over his shoulder.

They looked at him, but didn't have to ask why he was dressed more for a date than a hospital visit—Elizabeth.

"Not much, we were just going for a walk," James said to him.

"Oh. Well, Alisa, I just want to say…that I'm glad things will be getting back to normal," Will said as he looked hard into her eyes with a serious expression. Both knew without another word what he meant by that; their trust and friendship was restored. She gave a single serious nod and Norry cleared his throat.

"Well, shall we be off then?" he asked her and her answer was to link her arm in his and begin lightly stepping across the parking lot. Then she turned her head and grinned at Will, and a small but genuine smile, he returned.

Still clutching his flowers, he walked toward the waiting room with an anxious air of confidence. Will stopped, though, when he heard Ana and Jack talking in low voices. He was clearly standing in the waiting room, but they were very engrossed in their own world; instead of announcing himself, he listened on:

"You still haven't said much about what I told you, Jack. You say you're happy, but…" Anamaria was talking about her pregnancy, but Will was lost.

"I know, we haven't had much time to talk about it. But what better time than now! I am very happy, Luv." Jack noticed that she didn't look convinced. Taking a deep breath and letting out a tired sigh, he took her hands in his and continued.

"You know what Ana Baby? I've been trying to get you with child for the past two months," he admitted somewhat sheepishly.

"WHAT! But Jack, why would you do that!" She had ripped her hands out of his to clasp them to her face in shock.

"Because I love kids. And I love you." He stated this as if his reasoning was completely logical, simple, and obvious- as though there wasn't a doubt or worry in his mind. Maria wasn't buying it.

"But Jackie! The pills. I've been taking the pills."

"Actually…you've been taking a calcium tablet every day." She gasped.

"Condoms! They'd tear quite often. You insisted they weren't too small for…well, that wasn't you're doing was it? The condoms occasionally-well, quite often- tearing?" she asked with wide eyes when he didn't interrupt her to contradict.

"Sometimes I'd make sure they were expired. And I'd save a couple from the box and let them dry out a bit, become weak."

Her look of shock intensified as she plopped down into a chair which was luckily right behind her. He squatted down in front of her and rested his hands on her knees.

"Hey, now, don't look like that. You've always known how important it is to me, to have a family. A real family. You are the woman that I love. I want you to be the woman of my life. The mother of my children." Jack paused to see how she was taking it. _Ok, she's not having a seizure…eye diameter has decreased…_

"Well, I guess you have what you want then, I am obviously now the mother of your child," she said pointedly in a frustrated tone of voice. "I'm so confused Jack."

"You know you love me, too, Ana. I've only known you forever, what's so bad about wanting to be with you forever!" It was his turn to lose his cool and it became obvious to the other three people in the waiting room, not including Will, that there was something interesting going on. Everyone was listening and Jack realized this.

"Jackie? What are you talking about?" she asked him in a whisper. He rolled his eyes, exasperatedly.

"What I'm saying is, not only have I known ya forever, I've loved you for forever." His defined cheekbones gained a pinkish tint to them as he reached into his winter coat to pull out a velvet cube that looked very tiny in his large, tanned hands. He changed from squatting to kneeling on his right knee; her eyes went wide again as he opened the box to reveal a large, sparkling, rose-colored diamond on a stunning silver ring band. He sighed and ran a hand through his long, dark brown hair which was wavy since he took down his decorated braids.

"See, this isn't how I planned to ask you, but something told me to bring the ring. Anamaria, let's continue our lives-together. Will you be my wife? Will you marry me?"

The waiting room went silent. Even the lady behind the desk answering phones asked the patient on the line to hold on for a moment; she placed her hand over the receiver and stared at the scene in front of her. The seconds ticked by, but it felt like years to Jack. After about five of these agonizing seconds, he decided to try and do some awkward silence damage control.

"I understand that this is sudden and if you need time to-"

"No, Jackie. I mean, yes Jackie. I mean, no I don't need more time, yes Jack, I will marry you." He let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding and a grin graced his features as the room exploded in applause and cheers. She giggled as she examined the ring he slipped onto her finger and they embraced each other in a tight hug.

"Jack, Cap'n Jack, Anamaria, congratulations!" Will announced himself as he patted them both on the back.

"Thanks," she said shyly and Jack kissed her square on the cheek.

"William, me boy. I've been meaning to talk to you," Jack said and then he turned to Ana. "My beautiful fiancé, I'll be back soon." She nodded and Jack led Will away with a strong hand on the shoulder.

"Jack, I think I know what my dreams were about. They were about you and Anamaria taking care of me on my father's ship." When Jack looked at him confused, he told him of his dream with the dark haired girl holding him in her lap, and the pair of strong hands swooping him away from the ship's edge.

"Oh yes, I remember that. You must've been four and I 12, Ana eight. We took our eyes off you for one second that night- next thing I knew, I was chasin' after ya, full speed!" He laughed heartily as he stuck his hands in his jean pockets to keep his fingers warm. Will smiled. "But the ring on your finger-"

"From my dad."

"Yes, from ol' Bootstrap," he continued fondly. "The engraving on the inside. Ever wondered what it means?"

_Quarter your life._ Will had taken it off of his fingers to examine it again.

"Yes. Yes, I have thought about it."

"Well, during pirate battle, sometimes the captain will say 'men, no quarter' and it means have no mercy, fight till the end. He was tellin' ya, lad, to fight till the end to get what you want in life. Don't show anyone mercy who tries to take away your happiness. Your life is the most important thing you've got, Will."

He nodded, deep in thought for a moment as they continued their walk. Will stopped in his tracks and turned to Jack.

"Why are you telling me this now?" he asked. "You've known all along about my ring."

"I saw the flowers that you carried." At this, Will's face contorted into worry- Jack held up his hand. "Don't worry now; Anamaria is holdin' em for you (Will's face relaxed). I know they're for Elizabeth. And I know why you have them." _Actually I don't, but if I act like I do this should work._ Jack smirked.

_Why is he smirking at me? Or is it just my imagination?_ Will thought. _What does he know that I don't? _When Jack stayed silent, Will thought harder.

_I brought the flowers because it's the traditional thing to bring to someone who is sick in the hospital._

**_But she already has a ton._** Jack's voice seemed to enter Will's mind, arguing with him.

_Yes, but not lavender and honeysuckle ones! _

**_Whats' so friggin great about lavender and honeysuckle?_**

_That's the way her hair smelled that morning when I woke up beside her._

Silence.

_**Enough said, lad.**_

"So I love her?" This thought, he meant to keep in his head, but it escaped and Jack grinned, pleased with himself.

"Well, I dunno! But you better not let her slip away, 'specially not to that stunning Norry fellow."

You mean Norrington? I saw him and Alisa all cuddled up a minute ago."

"Well then, lucky you, lad! Now you just have to worry about her father! Good luck," he said as he gave Will a strong pat on the back. He started jogging toward the hospital entrance.

"Where are you going, Jack!" Will called out to him.

"Will, I don't know about you, but I'm freezin' my hide off, boy!" With that, Will was left alone in the sharp cold air to think about what Jack just helped him realize. Or so he thought.

"Will!" Alisa called from across the parking lot. He turned around and was surprised to see Elizabeth being helped into Alisa's truck by a nurse. She jogged over. "Hey, are you ok? You look like…I dunno, confused or something. Why are you out here by yourself?" He ignored her questions.

"Is Liz going home with you?"

"Well, she's been released and she insists on going to her own home. I'm just taking her and I figure I'll stay for a day or two, help her out."

He took a deep breath.

"No, Alisa, that won't be necessary. I'll stay with her. Better yet, you'll drive her to my place and she'll stay with me," he decided resolutely. Alisa had never seen him so determined, but she had reasonable doubts.

"I really don't think she's gonna go for this," she told him gently.

"I don't care! It's not like she can jump out of a moving truck and walk herself home!"

Silence.

"I wouldn't put it past her," Alisa finally said. For some reason they both found this very amusing and took and few moments to laugh and let tears flow down their faces hysterically.

Then Alisa's horn sounded- Liz was getting impatient.

"Ok, Will, meet us there."

He did indeed meet them there. And Liz most certainly did put up a fight.

"Will, this is very sweet of you, but I cannot stay here! I need to go home and take care of myself again," she insisted and looked at Alisa for support. Alisa shook her head vehemently and practically threw the bouquet she produced from her black backpack at Will's chest.

"Ana told me these are yours. I'm sorry but I gotta go…bye!" She ran out of the apartment even though Liz called out threats of 'You better not leave, or else!' Will was triumphant as he closed his door before she got the bright idea to try and run out, too. _Ooo, I don't think I like this sneaky, FBI side of Alisa,_ Liz thought as her tired feet made her finally give in and sit down on his couch. There was an oddly comfortable silence as she began looking at the pictures on his wall. He cleared his throat as he walked around the sofa to sit down next to her.

"Liz, I got these for you." Will handed her the purple and ivory flowers which she accepted and smelled.

"They remind me of something," she mused. He chuckled.

"Well they should, I think; they remind me of you. That day that I stayed the night at your house, I woke up to this smell. Your shampoo," he reminded her. For a moment she was flattered but then she became defensive.

"Ohh, is that what this is about? You don't have to repay me for that night, Will."

"No, that's not what this is about! Liz, I just…" He was at a loss for words. _Oh, forget it._ He stopped trying to speak and leaned over to giver her a long, sweet kiss. When they broke apart, she stared at him. _Our first kiss_, she thought happily. They didn't need to say anything. It became obvious to both of them that somewhere inside of them, they had known their true feelings all along.

"Ok. I'll stay," she agreed with a grin. He grinned back before they both leaned close to share another deep kiss.

Just an hour later, Will had helped a tired Elizabeth crawl into bed; she had given him her house key and a list of belongings to bring over. Later that night, when she woke up from a hungry stomach, the first thing she noticed was the warmth that Will emitted and she smiled lazily. Seconds later when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, the smile was wiped off of her face. _This is way more than was on my list for him!_

As she looked around his room she saw that most of the things from her own room were there, too. Liz got out of bed as quickly as she could manage and hobbled her shaky, sleepy body out to the living room. She gasped. Almost everything from her place was piled in the spacious living room. _What is he doing!_ She noticed a white piece of paper stuck to the TV and quickly read it.

I knew you'd be up before me. I love you Elizabeth. We'll talk in the morning.

She giggled and shook her head in disbelief. _When I said I'd stay did he think I meant?...nah!_ After sitting down to eat a sandwich, she crawled back into bed and took her small music box out from the bedside table. When she opened it up, it played the soft second verse of tinkling, mesmerizing music.

**Hold me, whatever lies beyond this morning **

**Is a little further on. **

**Regardless of warning, the future doesn't scare me at all…**

**Nothing's like before. **

She closed it, smiled and set it back in the drawer before snuggling up to Will and falling asleep to dreams of their adventures yet to come- life in New York, or the Caribbean, or wherever being a Pirate would take them.

A/N: I want to thank everyone for reading the tale and I hope that you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for your reviews and your questions/criticism/praise. I'm sure to write another story soon, whether it be on fanfiction or (same penname!).

Vive el Caribe,

Galaxia-Dawn


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